Holy Week XII. In this Mass, the bishop blesses separate oils for the sick (used in Anointing of the Sick), for catechumens (used in Baptism) and chrism (used in Baptism, but especially in Confirmation and Holy Orders, as well as in rites such as the dedication of an altar and a church). Tenebrae (Latin for "shadows" or "darkness") is celebrated within Western Christianity on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Tenebrae is distinctive for its gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms is chanted or recited. Tenebrae services are celebrated
Saint George's Day Georgiritt takes place on 23 April and leads from Gunzendorf up onto the Senftenberg. This is a kind of pilgrimage traditionally done on horseback. Under the state atheism of former Eastern Bloc countries, the celebration of Saint George's Day was historically suppressed. If St George's Day (or any saint's day) falls during Holy Week or on Easter Day, it is observed on Easter Monday. The Russian Orthodox Church, which uses the Julian calendar, has two important feasts of Saint George. Besides the feast of 23 April (6 May in the Gregorian calendar), common through all Christendom, Russians also celebrate the