Germany goes green on Maundy Thursday (and coincidentally, the nation is also going Green politically this year). Writing in the California newspaper the Lodi News Sentinel, pastor Chris Townsend explains how the traditions of Gründonnerstag came about through a corruption of the word grun:
The German word "to mourn" (grun) is very similar to the word "green" (grün). So in much of Germany, Maundy Thursday is a day to eat spinach and green salad (Gründonnerstag). This is not the only reason for eating greens, though. A traditional Jewish Passover meal is celebrated with karpas (a green vegetable, usually parsley) and bitter herbs.
