Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is a Christian feast commemorating Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, observed on the Sunday before Easter. Its processions and blessing of branches recall the crowds who welcomed him.

Triumphal Entry: The Gospel account of Jesus entering Jerusalem amid crowds welcoming him with branches and acclamations. This event is the episode Palm Sunday commemorates.
Palm branch: A leaf of a palm tree, used in religious ceremonies and as a sign of celebration or victory. Blessed branches give the feast its name and its most recognizable ritual object.
Passion Sunday: A name used in some Christian traditions for the Sunday before Easter, emphasizing Jesus’s suffering and death. The name foregrounds the Passion, while Palm Sunday foregrounds the entry into Jerusalem.
Hosanna: A biblical acclamation expressing a plea for salvation that also became a cry of praise. The crowds’ acclamation in Palm Sunday worship evokes the Gospel welcome.
Gospel of Matthew: A canonical Gospel presenting Jesus’s life, teaching, death, and resurrection. Matthew describes the entry into Jerusalem and the crowd’s welcome.
Procession: An organized movement of people, often ceremonial, along a route. Many Palm Sunday services begin with a procession recalling the entry into Jerusalem.
Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar: The annual cycle of feasts and fasts used by Eastern Orthodox churches. Its calendar places the related feast on a date that can differ from Western observances.
Messiah: An anointed deliverer or king expected in Jewish tradition and identified with Jesus in Christianity. The entry story raises expectations about what kind of king Jesus is.
Gospel of Mark: A canonical Gospel narrating Jesus’s ministry, death, and resurrection. Mark supplies one of the earliest written accounts behind the feast’s story.
Blessing of palms: A Christian rite in which palm or other branches are blessed for use in Palm Sunday worship. The blessing distinguishes the service’s branches from ordinary greenery.

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