Holy Wednesday: Creative Projects

On Holy Wednesday evening, the Orthros (Matins) service takes place in anticipation of the following day. So the themes mentioned on Holy Wednesday evening are actually the ones relevant to Holy Thursday:

The washing of the disciples’ feet
The Mystical Supper
The Marvelous Prayer
The Betrayal

We created two projects inspired by two of the themes mentioned above.

THE BETRAYAL
Judas’ silver coins

You will need:

Aluminum foil
Liquid glue
Any kind of sturdy paper
A pencil with an eraser on the back
Scissors

Place a piece of aluminum foil on the coin. Holding the aluminum foil firmly in place, rub with the pencil eraser all over the coin, so the design of the coin gets embossed on the aluminum foil. Any kind of coin will do, but coins with a pronouced design work best – in our case some fake coins we had left over from another project were the most effective ones.

Spread some glue on the back of the embossed aluminum foil piece and gently glue it on the paper. When the glue has dried, carefully cut the coin all around. Ready!

You can make a random number of coins, only three coins to symbolize Judas’ thirty ones, or even the whole amount of thirty, if you are feeling up to it. You can also cut a pouch shape out of colored paper to glue the coins on; or make a paper pouch to put them in:

… or store them in any small fabric bag you might already have at hand.

THE MYSTICAL SUPPER
Popsicle stick icon-inspired scene

This craft is inspired by the Orthodox icon of the Mystical Supper. Depending on the age and the interest of the children, it can include more or less detail. Working on your Mystical Supper scene, it would be useful to be aware of some basic facts about this icon, so they can be included and discussed while making the craft. We are summarizing them HERE.

You will need:

The Mystical Supper templates provided in our Holy Week crafting printable packet
Popsicle sticks
Colored craft paper or printer paper
Glue stick
Colored markers or pencils and a thin black marker or pen

Make the backdrop.
With the help of the templates, cut pieces of paper to make the basic elements of the backdrop. You can either print and use the templates themselves, coloring them or not, or use them as a guide to trace and cut shapes out of colored paper. You can include as few or as many details as you like.

We used a whole piece of blue paper for the backdrop onto which we glued a background building made out of an orange piece, and a simple canopy made out of a red piece.

We cut the table shape out of a brown piece of paper. On the table, we glued a small orange piece of bread for each disciple, a red jug for the wine, and a whole loaf of bread next to it.

Glue the table on the background scene, leaving the top part unglued, to form a pocket.

Prepare the popsicle stick figures.
We glued a halo on the stick that would become the figure of Jesus, and chose to color it to make Him stand out and also to discuss the colors of His garments. We used a thin marker to draw simple faces on the figure of Christ and of the disciples, and wrote the name of each disciple on the bottom of each popsicle stick. Natalie’s son’s idea was to also add a paper arm to Judas Iscariot, so he can reach for the bread at the center of the table.

Please note: This craft is a religious teaching tool, not a toy – the figures aren’t, of course, icons, but they represent our Lord and Saints; therefore, please be mindful when creating your scene and when disposing of the pieces afterwards, to help the children acquire the appropriate respect.