Maundy Thursday/Gründonnerstag commemorates Jesus' last supper with his disciples and the institution of the Lord's Supper. Holy Thursday is called Maundy Thursday from the old Latin name for the day, "Dies Mandatum," i.e. "the day of the new commandment." The "grün" in the German name "Gründonnerstag" (literally green Thursday) does not derive from the name of the color but from "greinen" (weinen, to weep).

Preceding Good Friday it also played a role in rural customs. A popular assumptions is that it is called "green" Thursday because of the green vegetables, people eat on this Fastday, spinach being a favorite. Called "Grien Dunnersdaag" by PA Germans, the tradition is to eat a big fresh salad.

Catholic churches do not ring their bells, they fall silent until Easter. The place of the bells is taken by rattles and other noisemakers, which call the faithful to service. "The bells have flown to Rome," people would say.

On Maundy Thursday PBS frequently presents from the Metropolitan Opera, Richard Wagner's last Gesamtkunstwerk Parsival sung in German with English subtitles. Parsival is the naive young man, who fulfills the prophesy that a "guileless fool" who returns the sacred spear--the weapon used to wound Christ--to the brotherhood of the Holy Grail. It takes place near and in the Castle of the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is supposedly the vessel from which Christ drank at the Last Supper.

Ruth Reichmann
Max Kade German-American Center
Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis

Mr adds: the Grail is clearly a medieval literary invention - one recent author Dr. Dan Scavone suggests that the Grail is actually the Shroud of Turin.

More on Gruen- Gruendonnerstag has a confusing and confused etymology.

According to some, it has nothing to do with greinen; rather, Kluge takes it to have been a translation of the Latin 'dies viridium', 'Tag der Gruenen', 'day of the green ones', -- the green ones being those who have done forty days of penance and are therefore fresh, innocent, green.

Duden and others, however, accept the simpler (and widespread popular) view that it was the day of eating green vegetables.

Take your pick!

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