Palm Sunday: what does it mean, what is its origin and why is it the beginning of Holy Week?

With the arrival of a new Easterthousands of faithful gather around the world to commemorate the last days of life of Jesus Christ.

The first important day of these dates will be next Sunday, April 2, when the Palm Sunday. That day the lentstarted on Ash Wednesday in February.

Origin of Palm Sunday

This date commemorates the beginning of the last week of Jesus’ life, when he triumphantly enters the city of Jerusalem. As described in the Gospels, a large crowd cheered Christ when he entered mounted on a donkey and welcomed him as the Messiah.

The name comes from the way the locals welcomed Jesus. Many applauded his entrance with palm branchesa plant which, in Jewish beliefs, was symbol of wealth and fertility.

This gesture has been modified over the years, as the religion has spread everywhere west. Since in some countries this plant did not exist, It has been replaced from others of local origin, such as badgerthe willow and the olive -the latter was considered a sign of peace-. Due to the large number of plants that were used for this purpose, it was given the name of Palm Sunday, to make it more generic.

Rituals with bouquets

Today it is a tradition bring to mass on Palm Sunday a bouquet of one of these aforementioned plants. The priest usually blesses them and then they are placed next to crosses or crucifixes at home throughout Easter.

Once finished, they are burned and then used their ashes during the Ash Wednesday of the following year; Likewise, this ritual is not that popular in some countries.