Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday and Holy Week
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the most sacred time of year for Christians. Catholic and Protestant communities celebrate it on the same day, while the Orthodox Christian community celebrates later due to their use of the Julian calendar.
Palm Sunday recalls a moment from the New Testament when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted by people waving palm branches. For Christians, it’s a symbol of welcoming Jesus into our hearts and a call to follow him.
The Palm Sunday service often includes a reading of the Passion—the story of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion. In today’s churches, care is taken to ensure that this story is not presented in an anti-Semitic way. For Christians, Jesus’ death is both a moment of salvation and a reminder that prophets are often killed for standing up for justice and peace.
Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday (also called Maundy Thursday, from the Latin mandatum, meaning “command”) commemorates the Last Supper. In many traditions, this includes the washing of feet, recalling Jesus’ act of service to his disciples. It’s a gesture that reminds Christians of the call to love and serve others, especially the poor.
Good Friday
Good Friday is a solemn day focused on the death of Jesus and its meaning as a source of hope and new life. In some churches, a wooden cross is placed for reflection and prayer. Others observe the Stations of the Cross, a devotion that follows Jesus’ path along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to the place of his crucifixion.
In Jerusalem, this is remembered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the traditional site of Christ’s death and resurrection. For many Christians, Good Friday is also a day of fasting and penance. It’s not only about remembering Christ’s suffering, but also about becoming more aware of the suffering in today’s world.
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday is the most important celebration in the Christian calendar. Though Christmas often gets more attention in wider society, Easter holds greater religious significance as the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
In some traditions, Easter begins the night before with the lighting of a new fire and blessing of a large Easter candle. Water is blessed and used for baptisms. In Catholic churches, worshippers are sprinkled with the newly blessed water as a sign of renewing their baptismal vows. Many Protestant churches hold sunrise services on Easter morning.
Easter celebrations often end with festive meals and special foods, marking the joy of the resurrection and the renewal of faith.
