What is Palm Sunday? Why do we celebrate it?

Palm Sunday for the year 2022 was celebrated April 10.

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter that begins the Holy Week. It is the day that we remember and celebrate the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem as Savior and King. As Jesus rode a donkey into the town of Jerusalem a large crowd gathered and laid palm branches and their cloaks across the road, giving Jesus royal treatment. The hundreds of people shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Palm Sunday is a moveable holiday meaning its date changes each year based on Lent and the spring equinox. Many churches celebrate Palm Sunday with the waving of palm branches, singing traditional hymns, and making crosses out of palm fronds. But while this is a triumphal entry, it is Jesus’ first step toward His death.

Many churches celebrate Palm Sunday. Maybe your church has children waving palm branches to help them connect to the story. But while this is a triumphal entry, it is Jesus’ first step toward His death.

Matthew 21:4 tells us: ‘This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ *The prophecy is cited from Zechariah 9:9 and Isaiah 62:11