Palm Sunday

About Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday recalls Jesus entering Jerusalem to the cheers of crowds who laid palm branches in his path. Churches bless palm fronds, or olive, willow, box or yew branches where palms do not grow, and congregations walk in procession with them. In the Philippines, the palaspas are woven into small shapes and kept at home through the year. In Spain, white palm leaves are braided in Elche, and in Poland tall palms made of dried flowers and reeds are carried and competed over in Lipnica Murowana. In Greece, small crosses are made of palm leaves. The Orthodox churches keep it a week before their Easter. The day sets the beginning of the solemn week that leads to the Triduum.

Palm Sunday dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

What is eaten

• simple fish
• olive-based dishes

Traditions of Palm Sunday

Palm SundayThe day itself.Holy WeekThe week that follows.

More marked on Palm Sunday

🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SevilleSemana Santa de Sevilla A week of solemn processions and floats through the streets of Seville to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreClean MondayΚαθαρά Δευτέρα The Monday that opens Great Lent, kept with fasting, forgiveness and kite-flyingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇪🇸 Seville, SpainHoly Week in SpainSemana Santa Annual Catholic penitential processions across Spain featuring floats, robes and music to mark the Passion of Christ.Spiritual 🇵🇱 PolandEaster in Poland A spring holiday of family breakfasts, blessed baskets, decorated eggs, and water games.Festival · Breakfast 🇵🇭 Manila, PhilippinesHoly Week in the PhilippinesMahal na Araw An eight-day observance of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ in the Philippines.Spiritual 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEasterΠάσχα The day Christians mark the resurrection, kept with vigils, feasts and eggsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals 🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreGreat LentΜεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή The forty-day fast before Easter, kept by Eastern Christians as a season of prayerSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast 🇱🇹 Vilnius, Lithuania and 3 moreSaint Casimir's FairKaziuko mugė A spring craft market and folk celebration across the historic streets of VilniusCraft 🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoPassion Play of Iztapalapa A community passion play staged across Iztapalapa during Holy WeekSpiritual 🇷🇺 RussiaAsperges The Christian liturgical ceremony of sprinkling the faithful with blessed waterSpiritual 🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala, GuatemalaHoly Week in GuatemalaSemana Santa Street processions of floats, purple-robed penitents and sawdust carpets in GuatemalaSpiritual 🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreLazariceлазарице A spring procession of girls in flower wreaths, singing door to door before Palm SundaySpiritual 🇬🇧 United KingdomJack o' Lent An English Lenten custom of abusing and burning a straw figureSeasonal