What is Palm Sunday 2017? Understand Significance of This Day and How It Is Held in Modern Times
Palm Sunday for this year will take place on April 9
Palm Sunday is a day of great significance to those of the Christian faith as it both serves to commemorate an important event in the life of Jesus Christ, while also serving as the starting point for a week filled with reflection and repentance.
To first understand the meaning of this event, people must remember it as the day in which Jesus entered Jerusalem in order to celebrate Passover, according to an article from ShareFaith.
On that day, and while riding on the back of a donkey, Jesus was met by a crowd of people with many of them waving their arms and yes, their palm branches too, as he rode into the city.
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As for why palm branches were used to welcome Jesus into the city, the act of laying these branches down was a practice back then reserved for people deserving of great respect, while the donkey served as both a symbol of humility and peace, ideals commonly associated with Jesus himself.
From that day, Palm Sunday was born, though it has been changed a bit.
These days, this important event now starts with the palms being blessed followed by a procession. A Mass then takes place, and once again, the lessons and significance of this day are conveyed to the churchgoers.
The celebration of this day does not end with the conclusion of the Mass, as people who attend then typically take the palm branches home and place them in different spots of their houses.
Also, since palm branches are not easily found in some parts of the world, people there can use branches of sallow, willow or yew.
Following the aforementioned day is Holy Week, and during this time of the year, people of the Christian faith take time to reflect upon the sacrifices made for them by Jesus and they also repent for their sins.
This year, Palm Sunday will take place on April 9.
