When Is Palm Sunday 2018 and Why Is It Important?

By Vianne Ilagan, Christian Post Contributor Friday, March 16, 2018

Christians around the world celebrate a number of important days before Easter. One of them is Palm Sunday, a movable feast that falls on March 25 this year.

During the Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Easter Sunday depends on the lunar calendar and falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, its date changes every year. With Easter just weeks away, Christians are already preparing to celebrate important events leading up to it.

One of the days that Christians observe during the 40-day Lent period is Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of the Holy Week. This day particularly represents the day Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph, riding a donkey while crowds of people pay homage to Him. In the Bible, these crowds were the same crowds that eventually called for His crucifixion and death.

Palm Sunday earned its name because of the palm branches laid down in the path of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem. Because of how people used these palm branches during the ancient times, they are seen today as a symbol of peace and victory.

Back then, people would throw palm branches before the feet of a victorious hero as a sign of respect. That's what they did when Jesus rode his way into the Holy City — the crowds laid palm branches at His feet to pay homage to Him. In the Book of Mark, it states that when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, people exclaimed, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!" People shouted for joy because His coming meant good news for them — for the outcasts, the blind, the women, the oppressed and the downtrodden.

This year, Palm Sunday falls on March 25. On this day, palm crosses are handed to parishioners to take home after church services.