When it comes to celebrating Holy Week and Easter, not all Christian denominations have the same traditions, services or beliefs.
Easter is today for most churches and is on April 15 for Orthodox churches that adhere to the Julian calendar, which differs from the Gregorian calendar that is used by many western countries.
Many churches consider Easter to be Christianity's most important holiday, and they celebrate the commemoration of Jesus' resurrection in a variety of ways, or not at all.
Today is considered part of Palm Sunday weekend for St. James the Apostle Orthodox Church in Westminster, according to the Rev. Raphael Barberg. There are daily services leading up to the church's Pascha, or Easter Sunday, on April 15.
There are years when Easter is celebrated on the same day for all churches, but often having it on a different Sunday than most people can have its advantages.
"For one thing, it's nice to get discounted chocolate the week after everyone [else] celebrates," Barberg joked.
Celebrating on a different day can be difficult for those who have converted to the Orthodox faith, such as Barberg. He has family members who will celebrate Easter today.
The separate celebration also allows church members to maintain focus on the important events being celebrated, he said. But Barberg believes that unity between the Christian faiths some day would be beneficial, he said.
"It's our prayer that eventually all Christian leaders of the churches will iron out the different calculations," Barberg said.
St. James the Apostle Orthodox Church has a lot more physicality in its worship services, including processions, he said. During Holy Week, the church has bridegroom services where they celebrate Christ, the bridegroom, and his passion for the church, his bride. On Thursday, the church is having a service of the 12 Gospel passages, where they will relate the narrative of Christ's betrayal and arrest.
"All the senses are brought into remembering the Lord's saving passion," Barberg said.
On Holy Friday, April 13, members will have a funeral service for the Lord and will act as though they are taking him from the cross where he was crucified to his resting place, he said. On April 14, they will gather in a darkened church, and sing "Christ is risen from the dead" and processing out with candles to then enter into a lit church to show Christ has expelled all darkness, he said.
"It's just a season of feasting and all other traditional things," Barberg said.
For Seventh-day Adventists, Easter is not observed today. The denomination focuses on the Resurrection, but worship services are on Saturday.
They do, however, recognize Palm Sunday April 1 as Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem but do not observe Holy Week.
Clerk of the Pipe Creek Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Union Bridge, Frank Reitemeyer, said every day is holy for the Quakers.
"We don't celebrate specific holidays because that would mean one day was more important than another in terms of our spirituality," he said.
The group may quote the Bible or another spiritual book about rebirth or spring during this time of year, but Quakers want to always keep the tone of spirituality alive.
They do not, however, completely skip out on the season's festivities.
"We color eggs just like everybody else," Reitemeyer said. "One could ask what does the Easter Bunny and eggs have to do with the Resurrection of Christ?"
Such activities are meant to celebrate this time of year, which is why many Quakers participate, he said.
It's important for people to know that Quakers' faith is based in Christianity; also, that they worship in silence and do not have ministers, he said.
"Someone else's words are not as good as our own," Reitemeyer said, adding that members look internally for direction.
Some churches have different or unique ways of celebrating Holy Week.
The Rev. Lee Brumback, from St. Mary's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Silver Run, said his congregation has been having a foot-washing service for five years. The service on Maundy Thursday recalls how Christ washed the feet of his disciples.
"It becomes an opportunity for service to remind us we are called in the world to serve others," he said.
During the Lenten season, the church's congregation viewed the film "Amish Grace," a movie that talks about the shootings at the Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa. The group discussed forgiveness in relation to the events and encouraged spiritual growth.
"It's a matter of seeing one's self in the light of Christ," Brumback said.
