Stripping of the Altar of the altar at the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday liturgy in Lutheran Churches, the "lectern and pulpit are [also] left bare until Easter to symbolize the humiliation and barrenness of the cross." In Anglican Churches, this ceremony is also performed at the conclusion of Maundy Thursday services, "in which all appointments, linens, and paraments are removed from the altar and chancel in preparation for Good Friday." In the earlier form of the Roman Rite, the stripping of the altar was done at the end of Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday. It is still carried out All
Maundy Thursday Cross, Christ's prayer, and his new commandment. The twelve readings are: Beginning on Holy and Great Thursday, the memorial service for the dead is forbidden until after Thomas Sunday. Maundy Thursday is a public holiday in most countries that were part of the Spanish empire (Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela), countries that were part of the Danish colonial empire (Denmark, Iceland, Norway and United States Virgin Islands), and in the Kerala State of India. Certain German states declare a public holiday for public sector employees. In the