Lent begins with *Ash Wednesday and ends with the conclusion of  the Great Sabbath (Holy Saturday -  Easter Eve) - a span of forty days on the church calendar, excluding Sundays. It is symbolic of the forty days Christ spent fasting and praying in the desert while enduring the temptations of the devil. (Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke)

Lent is generally observed as a time for spiritual renewal; a time for Christians to reflect, repent, and pray as a way of preparing their hearts for Easter and the Resurrection of Christ. Although not dictated or required by the Moravian Church, many of the faithful voluntarily commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence during the season of Lent.

The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor).

Counting Sundays, there are actually 46 days in the Lenten penance (season) - Sundays are excluded because each and every Sunday is considered a celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.

* Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a celebration and reminder of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.

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holy week

Holy Week, the week before Easter, often referred to as "Passion Week" by Moravians, is a full week of profound reflection, reverence and prayer.  The word passion comes from the noun translation of the verb pascho appearing in the gospels, where Jesus showed “himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3). There, the word passion means “to suffer,” particularly in reference to Christ’s sufferings and death.

Moravians gather every evening of Holy Week to read out loud from a harmony of the gospels, beginning with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ending with the burial. There are no sermons during Holy Week - just readings and congregational singing. A single hymn verse is sung in response to each passage read from the Bible - but, sometimes - there is silence.

Palm Sunday: The sixth Sunday in Lent is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches and proclaiming Him the Messianic King, Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey as prophesized in Zechariah 9:9. (Matthew 21:1-11)

Holy Monday: (The Cleansing of the Temple) Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:12-13)

Holy Tuesday, Jesus preached and taught in Jerusalem from early morning until late evening, mostly in parables. Jesus knew His physical life on earth was almost over, and He was leaving final words for us as He taught the parable of the talents. He prophesied about His Second Coming and the Last Judgment. He talked about the Greatest Commandment and the signs of the times. He gave warnings and he gave woes.
 
The cleansing of the Temple on Holy Monday caused the Pharisees to question His right to do so. One of the Pharisees, a lawyer, questioned Jesus in an attempt to trap Him - Jesus rebuked them for their envy and deceit. (Matthew 21:28-25:46)

Holy Wednesday: Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Him over. (Matthew 26:14-16)

Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter, is recognized and celebrated as the day Jesus and His disciples dined together for the last time before His death - the day of "the Lord's Last Supper" as described in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26:17-30).

The term Maundy from the Latin word mandatum, English word mandate, from a verb that means "to give," "to entrust," or "to order." The term is usually translated in English as "commandment."

Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Good Friday: The arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ all took place on Good Friday. Jesus was taken into Roman courts, before Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas, who sent Him back to the Jewish court. Roman soldiers took Him to Calvary (Golgotha - the place of the skull), where He was crucified. (Matthew 26:47 - Matthew 27:26)  A day filled with such treachery, cruelty, brutality and suffering that it would be documented and remembered forevermore.

The name Good Friday is believed by Bible scholars to have originally come from the Germanic phrase “Gute Freitag”, which at the time, translated into English as “good” or “holy” Friday, but why would such a sad and sorrowful day still be called Good Friday?  Because its sorrow is a godly sorrow. Its sadness is likened to the sadness of the Corinthians who wept over the letter from their dear teacher, Paul.  Hearing of their distress, Paul said, "My joy was greater than ever." Why? Because such godly sorrow "brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret" (2 Cor. 7:10)

Great Sabbath (Holy Saturday): Jesus' body lay in the tomb guarded by Roman soldiers throughout the day on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, an enforced day of rest. When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m., Christ's body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by Nicodemus: "He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth." (John 19: 39-40, NLT) (timeline source)

Nicodemus, like Joseph of Arimathea, was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court which had condemned Jesus Christ to death. For a time, both men had lived as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community.

Both were sorrowful and deeply affected by Christ's death. Casting fears aside, they boldly came out of hiding, risking their reputations and their lives because they now realized Jesus was, indeed, the long-awaited Messiah. Together they cared for Jesus' body and prepared it for burial.

Joseph of Arimathea, according to all four Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' crucifixion. (Matthew 27:57-60)

Easter sunday

Easter is a celebration of the risen Christ; the culmination of the Passion of Christ; a celebration of the triumph of Christ over death, sin, and the power of evil through His sacrificial death; the oldest Christian holy day and the most important day of the church year. All the Christian movable feasts and the entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter. Easter is followed by a 50-day Easter Season that stretches from Easter through Ascension to Pentecost.

There is evidence that early Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ every Sunday, with observances such as Scripture readings, psalms, and the Eucharist. In 325 A.D., the First Council of Nicaea established an official date to celebrate the resurrection of Christ (which is detailed below).

Since 1732, the Moravian Easter Sunrise Service has been a powerful tradition passed down from generation to generation, knitting together old and young, the living and the dead, individual congregations, and Moravians with the surrounding community.

Easter morning is an especially wondrous time. In the chilly pre-dawn morning, rain or shine, the faithful gather in front of the Church to await the glorious news.

The pastor proclaims, “The Lord is risen!” The congregation responds, “The Lord is risen indeed!”  After a brief service, the congregation reverently proceeds to the cemetery (God's Acre) while the band plays Easter chorales antiphonally. The liturgy is completed at the cemetery with the congregation greeting the rising sun in their God’s Acre, with hymns, horns and a resounding, “The Lord has risen… The Lord has risen indeed!”