Palm Sunday (redirected from Palmsonntag)

Palm Sunday, in the Christian calendar, the Sunday before Easter, sixth and last Sunday in Lent, and the first day of Holy Week. It recalls the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding upon an ass, when his followers shouted "Hosanna" and scattered palms in his path. In the Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches, ceremonies of the day are the blessing and distribution of crosses made from palm leaves and the recitation of one of the three synoptic accounts of the Passion. Many wear crosses made of the palm.

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Palm Sunday

 or Passion Sunday

In Christianity, the first day of Holy Week and the Sunday before Easter, commemorating Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It usually includes a procession of members of the congregation carrying palms, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into the city. The liturgy also includes readings recounting the suffering and death of Jesus. Palm Sunday was celebrated in Jerusalem as early as the 4th century and in the West by the 8th century.

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Palm Sunday

the Sunday before Easter commemorating Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem

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Palm Sunday

Between March 15 and April 18 in the West and between March 28 and May 1 in the East; the Sunday before Easter

During the Jewish Passover celebration, Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was given a hero's welcome by the people, who had heard of his miracles and regarded him as the leader who would deliver them from the domination of the Roman Empire. They carried palm branches, a traditional symbol of victory, and spread them in the streets before him, shouting "Hosanna, glory to God" (John 12:12,13). Palms are still used in church services on this day, which is the beginning of Holy Week, and Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem is often reenacted with a procession—the most impressive being the one in Rome, where the pope, carried in St. Peter's Chair, blesses the palms.
At the beginning or end of the service, the palms are distributed to the congregation. In some countries, where palms are not available, branches of other trees—particularly pussy willow, olive, box, yew, and spruce—are used. They are later hung up in houses for good luck, buried to preserve crops, or used to decorate graves. Other names for this day include Passion Sunday, Fig Sunday, Willow Sunday, Branch Sunday, Blossom Sunday, and, in France, Rameaux .

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 225
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 395
BkFest-1937, pp. 183, 300, 337
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 104
DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 181, 841, 954, 1171
EncyEaster-2002, p. 431
EncyRel-1987, vol. 3, p. 441
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 54
FestWestEur-1958, pp. 59, 92, 107, 125, 163, 192
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 167
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 172
OxYear-1999, p. 616
RelHolCal-2004, pp. 93, 120

Celebrated in: Austria, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway

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Palm Sunday (Austria)

Between March 15 and April 18; the Sunday before Easter

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by people waving palm branches. In Austria and the Bavarian region of Germany, farmers make Palmbuschen by attaching holly leaves, willow boughs, and cedar twigs to the tops of long poles. After the Palmbuschen have been blessed in the local church, the farmers set them up in their fields or barns to ward off illness, to protect their crops from hail and drought, and to preserve their families from other disasters. The Palmbuschen are kept there throughout the year.
See also Palm Sunday (Germany)

SOURCES:
BkHolWrld-1986, Apr 5
EncyEaster-2002, p. 437
FestWestEur-1958, p. 59

Celebrated in: Austria

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Palm Sunday (Finland)

Between March 15 and April 18; the Sunday before Easter

Instead of the traditional palm branches used in Palm Sunday observances elsewhere, birch branches are used in rural areas of Finland. Children may gather the branches or willow switches in the woods and decorate them with paper flowers and cloth streamers. According to custom, on the Saturday or Sunday before Easter, known as Willowswitch Saturday and Willowswitch Sunday, they go from house to house and spank the woman of the house lightly while reciting a Finnish refrain wishing her good health. The woman then uses a switch on her livestock in the same way. The switches are eventually collected and saved, to be used again the first time the cattle are driven to pasture in the new year. The children return on Easter to receive a treat.
Pussywillow or birch branches are also used to foretell the arrival of spring. Once they are cut, the days are counted until the buds on the branches open; this is how many weeks it will take for the trees in the forest to bud.

SOURCES:
BkFest-1937, p. 112
EncyEaster-2002, pp. 203, 440
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 229

Celebrated in: Finland

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Palm Sunday (Germany) (Palmsonntag)

Between March 15 and April 18; the Sunday before Easter

Although Palm Sunday customs vary from one part of Germany to the next, all celebrate the resurgence of life as symbolized by the arrival of spring. In the Black Forest, people decorate tall poles with pussywillows, heart or cross motifs, and long multicolored ribbon streamers. They set the decorated poles up in front of their houses and later carry them in procession to the local church, where they are blessed by the priest.
In Bavaria, branches from 12 different kinds of wood are cut, then bent and fastened to long poles in a semicircular shape and decorated with glass beads to resemble glittering trees. The trees are carried in procession to the church, blessed by the priest, and then set up in the farmers' fields to protect the crops and ensure a bountiful harvest.
One of the more unusual Palm Sunday customs in Germany is the Palm Esel, or wooden Palm Donkey, symbolic of the ass upon which Jesus entered Jerusalem. This survival of an ancient folk custom is carried to the village church. People believe that if they touch the Palm Donkey, they will share in the blessing that emanated from the humble ass that once carried Jesus.
See also Palm Sunday (Austria)

SOURCES:
EncyEaster-2002, pp. 227, 437
FestWestEur-1958, p. 59

Celebrated in: Germany

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Palm Sunday (Italy) (Domenica delle Palme)

Between March 15 and April 18; the Sunday before Easter

On Palm Sunday, the piazzas in front of most small Italian churches are filled with people dressed in spring clothes and vendors selling olive and palm branches. The olive branches are often gilded or painted silver, and the palms are braided into crosses and decorated with roses, lilies, or other flowers. After the palms have been blessed in the church, they are often exchanged as a peace offering or sign of reconciliation between those who have quarreled. In Rapallo, a center for the silk industry, silkworms' eggs are taken to church on Palm Sunday to be blessed.
The most impressive Palm Sunday observance, however, takes place in Rome. The pope, carried in St. Peter's Chair on the shoulders of eight men, comes out of St. Peter's Basilica to bless the palms. After the service, the golden palms are distributed among the clergy and the olive branches are distributed to the congregation. Then the thousands of worshippers who have gathered in St. Peter's Square march through the basilica and around the portico, emerging from one door and re-entering through another to symbolize the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The procession eventually makes its way to the high altar, where mass is said. Some of the palm branches are saved and later burned to make the next year's Ash Wednesday ashes. The rest are given to the people to take home, where they are treasured as protection against evil, particularly lightning and storms.

CONTACTS:
Italian Government Tourist Board
630 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1565
New York, NY 10111
212-245-5618; fax: 212-586-9249
www.italiantourism.com

SOURCES:
BkFest-1937, p. 183
BkFestHolWrld-1970, p. 50
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 104
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 55
FestWestEur-1958, p. 92

Celebrated in: Italy

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Palm Sunday (Netherlands) (PalmZondag)

Between March 15 and April 18; the Sunday before Easter

The Palmpaas, or "Easter palm," in the Netherlands is a stick between 18" and 54" long to which a hoop has been attached. The hoop is covered with boxwood and decorated with colored paper flags, eggshells, sugar rings, oranges, raisins, figs, chocolate eggs, and small cakes. There are figures of swans or cocks on top that are made out of baked dough. Sometimes there are contests for the most elaborate Palmpaas. Children in rural areas of the Netherlands go from one farm to the next with their Palmpaas, singing nonsense verses in which they ask for Easter eggs, sometimes for use in the popular Easter sport of eiertikken, or egg tapping.
With its egg and bird decorations, it seems likely that the Palmpaas was originally a fertility symbol that represented the arrival of spring in the village and the resurgence of life after winter. In some Roman Catholic areas, the Palmpaas are blessed by the local priest and then saved as protection against lightning and sore throats during the coming year.

SOURCES:
EncyEaster-2002, p. 439
FestWestEur-1958, p. 125
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 173

Celebrated in: Netherlands

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Palm Sunday (United States)

Between March 15 and April 18; the Sunday before Easter

Programs of sacred music are performed in many American towns and cities on Palm Sunday. They are often sponsored by and held in churches, but may be part of the musical community's regular concert series. These programs usually begin on or before Palm Sunday and may continue throughout Holy Week. Some of the more popular pieces performed at these concerts include Bach's St. John Passion or St. Matthew Passion, Handel's Messiah, Gounod's La RÉdemption, Haydn's Seven Last Words, Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives, and Sir John Stainer's Crucifixion . Bethany College's Messiah Festival in Lindsborg, Kansas, has been held during Holy Week for over 100 years.
In addition to musical performances, plays or pageants dealing with Holy Week themes are often performed on Palm Sunday as well. The same group that performs the Black Hills Passion Play in South Dakota all summer for many years portrayed the last seven days in the life of Christ during Holy Week at an amphitheater near Lake Wales, Florida.
In St. Augustine, Florida, the Blessing of the Fishing and Shrimp Fleet takes place on Palm Sunday. Shrimp trawlers and other fishing boats, as well as many privately owned vessels, circle past the City Yacht Pier to receive the local priest's blessing.
Many people place the palm branches that have been blessed in the churches on Palm Sunday behind religious pictures and statues in homes, stores, and restaurants.

CONTACTS:
St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau
88 Riberia St., Ste. 400
St. Augustine, FL 32084
800-653-2489 or 904-829-1711; fax: 904-829-6149
www.getaway4florida.com