A couple of years ago, inspired by Kendra Tierney and an idea that she details in The Catholic All Year Compendium, I started a tradition of spring cleaning during the pre- and early days of Holy Week. Tierney deep cleans and deeeeeeeep organizes with her kids, whom she homeschools, during the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, but because I work outside the home and my kids aren’t yet of the age where they are especially helpful in the cleaning and organization process, I take a slightly different approach. I block out the calendar on the Saturday before Palm Sunday and that’s when – with the soundtrack to Godspell blasting in the background – I roll up my sleeves and get to work. 

Right now, my kids are 6, 4 and 20 months, which means that for the past couple of years I’ve been engaging in this tradition, they’ve been on varying spots of the spectrum ranging from participatory-if-not-exactly-helpful to downright-counteractive-to-the-process. Somehow, by the grace of God, this hasn’t deterred me. The grace of my husband – who will put a baby in the hiking backpack and mow the lawn, prepare the garden beds, and trim the hedges as his part in the spring cleanup – also helps. As my older two children have been getting, well, older, they have become eager to get involved in the process, washing fingerprints off windows and dusting baseboards.

I love my family’s Holy Week cleaning tradition. We start the project on the Saturday before Holy Week begins, but we continue it throughout the early days of the next week, so that by Holy Thursday, our house feels different. Surfaces gleam, the smells of pine-sol and lemony furniture polish fill the air, and the books on the shelves neatly aligned for once in the year. 

I can tell that my children notice the difference as well because they are quicker to put away their toys, to return the cushions to the couch, and to place their shoes on the rack instead of the middle of the entryway. The atmosphere takes on a special vibe… as it should. Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday are the most important days in our Liturgical Year, and, as a Catholic mom, I want these days to feel set apart. For my family, this starts with a clean house. 

However, it doesn’t end with a clean house. The dust-free mantle, the dining room tabled cleared of its usual clutter, and the tidy cutlery drawer set the backdrop for days filled with prayer and practices that help my family learn about and lean into the story of Jesus’s passion, death and resurrection. If you are looking for ways to make your Holy Week feel set-apart, elevated, and holy, I can’t recommend more highly doing a deep clean… and then perhaps trying one or more of the ideas below.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the day on which we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem. Two thousand years ago, the first Palm Sunday was a triumphant one. The crowds greeting Jesus recognized him as the Messiah, so they honored his entry by waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!” We remember this day at Mass by waving palms, and you can extend the tradition at home by doing something special with the palms that your family was given at church. Pick a bouquet of flowers from your yard (typically Palm Sunday falls around daffodil or tulip season) and arrange them in a vase with the palms, or create palm crosses together. 

Monday thru Wednesday

Monday thru Wednesday of Holy Week do not have particular liturgical days or traditions associated with them, so consider using these days to prepare your family’s hearts and homes for Triduum. 

In addition to wrapping up Holy Week cleaning, it’s nice to use these days to “clear the deck,” so to speak, so that the various tasks of daily life don’t linger and require action at the end of the week. For instance, make sure your meal planning, grocery shopping, and any preparations that can be done ahead of time for Holy Thursday through Easter are complete, and if you have guests visiting for the holiday, have their rooms ready early. You can involve children in these preparations by having them clean their rooms, make welcome signs for guests, and color/paint/design place cards for the Easter tablescape.  

Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday, we remember Jesus’s Last Supper with his disciples, and how he washed the feet of his disciples. One way to make the memory of these important events come alive for children is to recreate them. For dinner, have the foods that Jesus would have had at his Last Supper. Because we know from Scripture that Jesus was celebrating the Jewish holy days of Passover in the days leading up to his crucifixion, we can know with pretty near certainty the foods that Jesus and his disciples would have been eating on Holy Thursday night; at the very least, unleavened bread and wine (or grape juice) can be served and passed around your table. After the meal, take turns washing each others’ feet. 

Good Friday

Good Friday is the day on which we remember Jesus’s trial, condemnation, walk to Golgotha, and crucifixion. It feels appropriate to keep the day somber, and there are a few simple ways I’ve worked towards this in my family’s home. 

For starters, we go simple with food on Good Friday. While the church suggests fasting only for adults (between the ages of 18 and 59 who don’t have medical reasons not to fast) on Good Friday, I keep food simple for our children as well (no dessert, no meat of course, no favorite snack foods… we drink water, eat fruits, vegetables, bread, peanut butter, beans and rice).

We also try as a family not to use electronics on Good Friday. My husband and I put our phones away. We don’t play music in the home. Our kids don’t get to watch their PBS show of the day. Instead, we spend time as a family, going outside if the weather is nice, reading books. 

I have yet to achieve this in our house, but I read somewhere the idea to keep a Silence Challenge from noon to 3 p.m. on Good Friday. I love the idea of devoting this time to prayer and reflection; maybe this year will be the year. 

Holy Saturday 

Holy Saturday is the day between sorrow and joy. It’s a day to focus on hope and anticipation, and we do that in our house by making the final preparations for Easter – decorating the house, and coloring eggs. Both of these activities thrill my children, so they definitely have a touch of the Easter joy… but it’s also clear to everyone that it’s not quite the “full” joy yet. We’re still not eating candy, or wearing our new outfits, or hunting for baskets, or singing Alleluia, after all. But we sure are feeling ready for it, and these final preparations aid in that feeling of excitement. 

There is no shortage of ways to celebrate Holy Week at home, and I hope that you find what works well for your family. Feel free to comment additional ideas below!