Maundy Thursday April 22 inclusive, but these dates fall on different days depending on whether the Gregorian calendar or Julian calendar is used liturgically. Eastern churches generally use the Julian calendar and celebrate this feast throughout the 21st century between April 1 and May 5 in the more commonly used Gregorian calendar. The liturgy held on the evening of Maundy Thursday initiates the Easter Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus; this period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter. The Mass of the Lord's Supper or service of worship is
Maundy Thursday been known in English as "Shere Thursday" (also spelled "Sheer Thursday"), from the word "shere" (meaning "clean" or "bright"). This name might refer to the act of cleaning, or to the fact that churches would switch liturgical colors from the dark tones of Lent, or because it was customary to shear the beard on that day, or for a combination of reasons. This name has cognates throughout Scandinavia, such as Danish "Skærtorsdag", Norwegian "Skjærtorsdag", Faroese "Skírhósdagur" and "Skírisdagur", and Icelandic "Skírdagur". In Swedish, the day is known as "Skärtorsdag", with "Skär" being an archaic word for "wash". "Maundy" is the