Significance, History and
Observance
Palm
Sunday, also called Passion Sunday, in the Christian tradition, the first day
of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter, commemorating 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).
These
special ceremonies were taking place toward the end of the 4th century in
Jerusalem. 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. After reforms of the Roman Catholic
liturgies in 1955 and 1969, the ceremonies were somewhat simplified in order to
emphasize the suffering and death of Christ.
The
day is now called officially Passion Sunday. The liturgy begins with a blessing
and procession of palms, but prime attention is given to a lengthy reading of
the Passion, with parts taken by the priest, lectors, and congregation. The
palms are often taken home by the members of the congregation to serve as
sacramentals, and some of them are burned the following year to serve as the
ashes for Ash Wednesday.
In the Byzantine liturgy the Eucharist on Palm Sunday is followed by a procession in which the priest carries the icon representing the events being commemorated. In the Anglican churches some of the traditional ceremonies were revived in the 19th century. The majority of Protestant churches, while celebrating the day without ritual ceremonies, give palms increasing prominence.