Palm Sunday

The sixth and last Sunday of Lent and beginning of Holy Week, a Sunday of the highest rank, not even a commemoration of any kind being permitted in the Mass. In common law it fixes the commencement of Easter duty.

The Greeks celebrate the day with great solemnity; they call it kyriake or heorte ton baion or heorte baiophoros or also Lazarus Sunday, because on the day before they have the feast of the resuscitation of Lazarus.

The Latin liturgical books call it Dominica in Palmis, Dominica or Dies Palmarum. From the cry of the people during the procession the day has received the name Dominica Hosanna or simply Hosanna (Ozanna).
Because every great feast was in some way a remembrance of the resurrection of Christ and was in consequence called Pascha, we find the names Pascha floridum, in French Pâques fleuries, in Spanish Pascua florida, and it was from this day of 1512 that [the] State of Florida received its name.

The prayers make reference to the dove bringing back the olive branch to Noah's ark and to the multitude greeting Our Lord; they say that the branches of palms signify victory over the prince of death and the olive the advent of spiritual unction through Christ.

Palm branches have been used by all nations as an emblem of joy and victory over enemies; in Christianity as a sign of victory over the flesh and the world according to Ps. xci, 13, "Justus ut palma florebit "; hence especially associated with the memory of the martyrs. The palms blessed on Palm Sunday were used in the procession of the day, then taken home by the faithful and used as a sacramental. They were preserved in prominent places in the house, in the barns, and in the fields, and thrown into the fire during storms. On the Lower Rhine the custom exists of decorating the grave with blessed palms. From the blessed palms the ashes are procured for Ash Wednesday. In places where palms cannot be found, branches of olive, box elder, spruce or other trees are used and the "Cæremoniale episcoporum", II, xxi, 2 suggests that in such cases at least little flowers or crosses made of palm be attached to the olive boughs.
-Catholic Encyclopedia

Palm Sunday is a moveable feast in the church calendar observed by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians. It is the Sunday before Easter. In the Western church it must always fall on one of the 35 dates between March 15 and April 18.

The feast commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his execution. This was the only day in which Jesus Christ set aside His ministerial role to make a political statement before His covenant people. Many Christians and Messianic Jews regard this event as the terminus of the first 69 weeks of Daniel's Prophecy of Seventy Weeks, and thereby a very holy day.

It was also a common custom in many lands in the ancient Near East to cover, in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. All of the Gospels report that people gave Jesus this honour. In the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke they are reported as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street. John is the only Gospel to specifically mention palm branches. The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory (Leviticus 23:40 - Feast of Tabernacles, and Revelation 7:9).

Originally the Roman Catholic Church officially called this Sunday the Second Sunday of the Passion; in 1970 the formal designation was changed to Passion Sunday, a change that has caused considerable confusion because the latter term had heretofore been affixed to the previous Sunday, or the fifth within Lent.
-Wikipedia

Sacramentals are things (sacramentalia) set apart or blessed by the Catholic Church to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin, according to the Council of Trent (Session XXII, 15).

...the sacramentals excite pious dispositions, by means of which the faithful may obtain grace. It is not the sacramental itself that gives grace, but the devotion, the love of God, or sorrow for sin that it inspires, and the prayers of the Church that render sacramentals efficacious against evil spirit.

The pious use of sacramentals by non-Catholics is permitted. As blessed objects or rituals that represent sacred beliefs and persons, disrespect to sacramentals is considered a form of sacrilege.
-Wikipedia

The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians particularly remember the last week of Jesus's life. Holy week begins on Palm Sunday.

Christian clergy will often use the Palm Sunday story to help people think about the strength of their own commitment to their faith. They may ask believers to think about times that they have been unfaithful to Christ, or been hypocritical in proclaiming their support.

Hymns for Palm Sunday usually include Ride On, Ride On In Majesty and All Glory, Laud and Honour. Songs may include Make Way, Hosanna, and (for children) We have a King who Rides a Donkey.
-BBC - Religion & Ethics

Find out more at Annie's Palm Sunday Page.

The week we now call Holy Week, started with Palm Sunday. Why was this week so important that three of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) devote a full third of their contents to reporting this week, and The Fourth (John) dedicates its entire last half?
Continue reading at History of Easter: Palm Sunday by Bill Petro.

Jesus Rides into Jerusalem as a King
And, a Week Later, Walks to a Humiliating Death
The last week of Jesus' life was crammed with events, as we follow him from his glorious entry into Jerusalem on Sunday until his death on Friday. In the days in between, he preached, taught, presided over the Passover supper, stood trial, and was condemned to death. This week we call Holy Week.
-Sunday School Lessons

When discarding old palms, remember it is a blessed religious object and should be burned or buried. Some gardeners bury it in their home garden, believing it will bless the coming year's crop.
-Holiday Insights

Jean