Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday and Holy Week

Palm Sunday, in the Christian tradition, is the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter, which commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is associated in many churches with the blessing and procession of palms (leaves of the date palm or twigs from locally available trees). Palm Sunday is celebrated throughout the world but may be on different dates according to the days set forth in the Eastern or Western Church calendar. Early special ceremonies were taking place toward the end of the 4th century in Jerusalem and are described in the travelogue Peregrinatio Etheriae (The Pilgrimage of Etheria). In the West the earliest evidence of the ceremonies is found in the Bobbio Sacramentary (8th century). During the Middle Ages, the ceremony for the blessing of the palms was elaborate: the procession began in one church, went to a church in which the palms were blessed, and returned to the church in which the procession had originated for the singing of the liturgy. The principal feature of the liturgy that followed was the reading of the account of the Passion of Christ (Matthew 26:36–27:54). Musical settings for the crowd parts were sometimes sung by the choir. The liturgy today begins with a blessing and procession of palms, but prime attention is given to a lengthy reading of the Passion. The palms are often taken home by the members of the congregation to serve as sacramentals (sacred signs of the sacraments), and some of them are burned the following year to serve as the ashes for Ash Wednesday.

The first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ humble entry (on a donkey) into Jerusalem to observe Passover. According to the Gospel account, he was greeted by crowds of people who spread their cloaks and laid palm leaves in his path and proclaimed him the Son of David (Matthew 21:5). In many Christian churches Palm Sunday is celebrated with a blessing and procession of palms.

During Holy Week, Christians recall the events leading up to Jesus’ death by crucifixion and, according to our faith, his Resurrection. The week includes five days of special significance. This includes Masses, Stations of the Cross and other remembrances. Maundy Thursday marks Jesus’ institution at the Last Supper of the Eucharist, thereafter a central element of Christian worship. In our tradition, Maundy Thursday is accompanied by the priest’s washing of the feet, sometimes of 12 humble or poor persons, in imitation of Jesus’ washing of the feet of his 12 disciples at the Last Supper. Good Friday commemorates Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross; it is traditionally a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting. Holy Saturday, also called Easter Vigil, is the traditional end of Lent. Easter Sunday is the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, which according to the Gospels, was on the third day after his crucifixion. The modern observance of Easter, like that of Christmas, has become associated with various folk traditions that have little connection with the religious celebration; they include the Easter lamb, the Easter rabbit, and the painting of Easter eggs.  They are a time of celebration of Christ’s triumph over death which includes all of us.