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Maundy Thursday is the first day of the Triduum, the three holy days before Easter. The name "Maundy" comes from the Latin "mandatum novum" or "new commandment" that Christ issues to his followers in John 13:34: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."

Maundy Thursday celebrates Christ's institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed. Whenever possible, the last Eucharist before Easter is celebrated on Maundy Thursday. This service also includes a ceremony of foot washing after the homily and before the Eucharist, honoring Christ's act of humble service to his disciples before he broke bread with them. 

The service is concluded with the stripping of the altar, during which all linens, paraments, and decorations are removed from the altar, the aumbry (a recessed tabernacle containing the reserved sacrament) is emptied and left open, and the sanctuary light is extinguished until Easter Sunday, symbolic of Christ's dsecent to the dead. The congregation then departs in silence.