When is Palm Sunday? When does Holy Week begin?
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, marks the start of Holy Week, which is the most sacred week of the Christian year that ends with Easter Sunday.
The most sacred week of the Christian year will begin on Palm Sunday, which falls on 24 March this year for Protestants and Roman Catholics. However, the Orthodox Church, which uses the Julian calendar, will celebrate Palm Sunday on 28 April this year.
Also known as Passion Sunday, it commemorates when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem riding a donkey as Savior and King. A large crowd greeted him along the road laying palm branches and garments on the ground before him.
It is the sixth Sunday of Lent, the period to commemorate the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert. Lent ends on Holy Saturday or at sundown on Maundy Thursday, depending on the faith. Holy Week for its part culminates on Easter Sunday.
The seven days of the Christian Holy Week
Holy Week, a seven-day long observance, celebrates the final days of Jesus Christ. Each day marks a specific event from the time he entered Jerusalem and each has its own significance in Christian teachings.
The seven days of the Holy Week are as follows:
| Holy Monday | Jesus Christ is said to have attended the temple and cleaned it, noting that a fig tree was not bearing fruits. |
| Holy Tuesday | Christ condemned the religious authorities in the city, leading the Pharisees and the Herodians to conspire against him. |
| Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) | Judas Iscariot is said to have met with religious leaders and agreed to betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver. |
| Maundy Thursday | Also known as Holy Thursday, this day is when Jesus had his last supper. |
| Good Friday | The day on which Jesus Christ was crucified, now often remembered with church services, annual procession and a Good Friday address from the Pope. |
| Holy Saturday (Black Saturday) | The day on which Christ was buried in a tomb in the mountains above Jerusalem. |
| Easter Sunday | The day on which Jesus Christ was resurrected and ascended to Heaven |
Easter Sunday also marks the first day of the new season of the Great Fifty Days, which covers the period from Easter Day to Pentecost Sunday.
How do people celebrate Palm Sunday and Holy Week?
Celebrations vary across the globe but everywhere church services and special masses are held. On Palm Sunday in particular, parishioners will often bring palm, olive or other tree branches with them to church.
Afterward they may take them home with them to either display them in a window or on a balcony. They are sometimes used to make ashes for Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the following year.
In many places processions take place. Some of the most famous take place in Jerusalem to retrace the steps of Jesus Christ entering the city or his path to be crucified. Those in Spain during Holy Week are also a major part of the commemoration.
There is a significant mass held in the Vatican, although notably this year, 2024, the Pope did not deliver the homily.