Significance Of Palm Sunday, Why Christians Celebrate It

Most Christians in various churches have to celebrated ‘Palm Sunday’ to mark the beginning of a ‘holy week’ and the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ.

VerseNews Nigeria observed that the special Sunday is celebrated by blessings and distribution of leaves from palm trees or native trees.

It is the last Sunday in Lent and the Sunday before Easter and the date changes yearly because Easter changes in relation to the Jewish holiday of Passover.

This Online News Media understands that Palm Sunday is celebrated by Christians in honour to Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, where the people carried palm branches. It also is called ‘Passion Sunday’ because the Gospel narrative of Jesus’ passion is read on this Sunday. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week.

The celebration signifies triumphant entry of Jesus Christ and the beginning of a ‘Holy week.’

The three features of the Palm Sunday story found in Matthew 21:1-11 are the donkey, the crowds, and the palm branches.

The Donkey

A donkey represents the beginning of the account of Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as we see Jesus instruct His disciples to find a donkey for Him to enter the city on.

The Crown

The crowd represents Jesus’ followers, those who believe in him and have seen him perform miracles. Today the His followers are believers and those that worship in various churches.

The Palm Branches

The palm branches and cloaks the crowd lay on the road before Jesus are signs of an overflow of joyous praise. The people shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Hosanna means “O save us” in Hebrew.

Some scriptural references to read are: Matt. 21:1 – 7, Mark 10:47, John 12:13, Mark 10:11