Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and is celebrated in Catholic and Protestant churches. Palm Sunday is the start of Holy week and is followed by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. It is celebrated due to it being the day Jesus is said to have come into Jerusalem. He was received happily by the crowds as they waved palm braches at Him, then just a week later, a similar crowd was there for His crucifixion. This leads to the three days He was said to be in the tomb, and on the third (Easter) rose from the dead. Easter also marks the ending of the lent season.  

The palms from Palm Sunday are what gets burned and used for the following year's Ash Wednesday, upon which people get ashes in the shapes of crosses on their foreheads as seen in a previous blog post. Depending on the church and denomination, there are different songs, objects, and symbols used to commemorate palm Sunday. In protestant churches, less ritual objects and songs are used. Some denominations that are more closely structured to Catholicism, such as Lutheran, incorporate much of the same hymns, robes, and other religious reminders of the day and its history. A protestant service, like the one I attended and received this palm at, are not traditional or identical. The services are different every year, and things are done in remembrance, but not ritual. I do not feel either is better or worse, just different. Both hold significance, purpose, and meaning to those attending for their own personal reason. 

Though the palm is said to be used centuries ago, now the palm is given as a reminder to those that attend church on Palm Sunday. It is not used during the service or in any particular way; it is just a physical thing to hold and think of what it symbolizes. Having an object, even though it is not the exact object used centuries ago, still provides a sort of connection to that time, place, and emotion. Another interesting thing about the palm as a religious object is that it is not something you buy to have, use, or display, but rather is purchased in bulk by the church, and given away at no cost. Though it is disposable, and virtually worthless, it still individually can hold much meaning to the person receiving it, even though it is exactly like the hundreds or thousands the church gave out that day. It is an example of the value not being in the monetary worth, but rather in the sentiment and what is being commemorated.