Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo) in Panama is a major public holiday marking the start of the Easter Triduum, with large Catholic celebrations featuring solemn processions (especially in Panama City's historic Casco Antiguo), reenactments, special masses, and traditional foods like torrejas, while also triggering massive holiday travel as many Panamanians head to beaches, leading to heavy traffic. It commemorates the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, with rituals like foot-washing in churches. 

Services focus on the Last Supper, with priests washing feet to mirror Jesus's act. Processions consit of elaborate, solemn parades with statues of Christ and saints happen in cities, particularly Casco Viejo. Many observe penance through prayer, fasting, and abstaining from certain foods. Cultural aspects of the holiday inlcude traditional foods such as Torrejas (sweet bread fritters) which are popular treats. The holiday is also part of “International Holy Week” when panama promotes this as a religious tourism event, drawing visitors to its historic sites.