According to Cyril of Scythopolis, during this time the monks of the East, who had chosen the desert for a severer mode of life, returned to their monasteries.

The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on Good Friday.

The veiling was associated with Passion Sunday's Gospel (John 8:46–59), in which Jesus "hid himself" from the people.

after Passion Sunday", which in Pope John XXIII's edition of the Roman Missal became "Monday (etc.)

The Gregorian chant composed for the First Sunday of Passiontide expresses two main themes: the expectation of Easter and the suffering that will be endured on Good Friday.

The Communion antiphon "Hoc Corpus" is taken directly from the Gospels and has a eucharist theme fittingly adapted to the liturgical moment that it accompanies, but it also calls to mind the impending Passover meal, which will serve as the setting for the Last Supper.

Passion cantatas have been composed to texts in a variety of languages, taking as their theme the hours or days before the Crucifixion of Christ.

Many settings have been made of the Latin poem Stabat Mater, which describes Mary standing in front of the Cross watching her son die (the Feast of the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin is observed on Friday in Passion Week), and the lessons from the Tenebrae service have been set by a variety of composers.

Heinrich Schütz composed a cantata, Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz, c. 1645.

Joseph Haydn wrote seven string quartets, Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze (The seven last words of our Redeemer on the cross) which also appeared in other arrangements.