Құдіретті жексенбілік күні

Christian moveable feast preceding Easter

Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm branches waved by the crowd to greet and honor Jesus Christ as he entered the city. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week; in Western Christianity, this is the beginning of the last week of the solemn season of Lent, preceding Eastertide, while in Eastern Christianity, Holy Week commences after the conclusion of Great Lent. In most Christian rites, Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches (or the branches of other, native trees), representing the palm branches that the crowd scattered before Christ as he rode into Jerusalem. These palms are sometimes woven into crosses. The difficulty of procuring palms in unfavorable climates led to the substitution of branches of native trees, including box, olive, willow, and yew. Many churches of mainstream Christian denominations, including the Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Moravian, and Reformed traditions, distribute palm branches to their congregations during their Palm Sunday liturgies. Christians take these palms, which are often blessed by clergy, to their homes, where they hang them alongside Christian art (especially crosses and crucifixes) or keep them in their Bibles and daily devotional books. In the days preceding the next year's Lent, known as Carnival or Shrovetide, churches often place a basket in their narthex to collect these palms, which are then ritually burned on Shrove Tuesday to make the ashes to be used on the following day, Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.

In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem takes place a week before his resurrection. Only the Gospel of John shows a timeline of the event, dated six days before the Passover. The raising of Lazarus is mentioned only by the Gospel of John, in the previous chapter. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches which follows the Byzantine Rite, commemorate it on Lazarus Saturday, following the text of the Gospel. In fact, the Jewish calendar dates begin at sundown of the night beforehand, and conclude at nightfall. The Gospel of Matthew states that this happened that the prophecy might be fulfilled of: Zechariah 9:9 "The Coming of Zion's King – See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey". It suggests that Jesus was declaring he was the King of Israel. According to the Gospels, Jesus Christ rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, and the celebrating people there laid down their cloaks and small branches of trees in front of him, singing part of Psalm 118: 25–26 – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. In many lands in the ancient Near East, it was customary to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. The Hebrew Bible reports that Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, was treated this way. Both the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John report that people gave Jesus this form of honour. In the synoptics the people are described as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street, whereas John specifies fronds of palm (Greek phoinix). In Jewish tradition, the palm is one of the Four Species carried for Sukkot, as prescribed for rejoicing in Leviticus 23:40. In the Greco Roman culture of the Roman Empire, which strongly influenced Christian tradition, the palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory. It became the most common attribute of the goddess Nike or Victoria. For contemporary Roman observers, the procession would have evoked the Roman triumph, when the triumphator laid down his arms and wore the toga, the civilian garment of peace that might be ornamented with emblems of the palm. Although the Epistles of Paul refer to Jesus as "triumphing", the entry into Jerusalem may not have been regularly pictured as a triumphal procession in this sense before the 13th century. In ancient Egyptian religion, the palm was carried in funeral processions and represented eternal life. The martyr's palm was later used as a symbol of Christian martyrs and their spiritual victory or triumph over death. In Revelation 7:9, the white clad multitude stand before the throne and Lamb holding palm branches.

In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is known as Tsvetnitsa (tsvete, "flower") or Vrabnitsa (varba, "willow"), or Flower's Day. People with flower related names (e. g., , etc.) celebrate this day as their name day.

In the 15th through the 17th centuries in England, Palm Sunday was frequently marked by the burning of Jack o' Lent figures. This was a straw effigy which would be stoned and abused on Ash Wednesday, and kept in the parish for burning on Palm Sunday. The symbolism was believed to be a kind of revenge on Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Christ. The effigy could also have represented the hated figure of Winter, whose destruction prepares the way for Spring.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church and Orthodox Ethiopia, this holiday is referred to as Hosanna. Palm leaves will be blessed and distributed, they are used to create crucifixes, rings and other ornaments.

In some regions of Germany, long stakes with pussy willow, box and other twigs are taken for the Palm procession rather than nosegays. In some Southern regions either the priest leads the palm procession, riding on a donkey, or a wooden donkey (called Palmesel) with a figure of Christ is traditionally trundled with the procession of the faithful.

In most of the Catholic churches in India the palms are blessed by the priest on Palm Sunday and then distributed among the people after the holy mass. There is a tradition of folding palm fronds into palm crosses, which are kept at the altar till the next Ash Wednesday. In the South Indian state of Kerala (and in Indian Orthodox, Church of South India (CSI), Syro Malankara Catholic Church, and Syriac Orthodox Church (Jacobite) congregations elsewhere in India and throughout the world), flowers are strewn about the sanctuary on Palm Sunday during the reading of the Gospel, at the words uttered by the crowd welcoming Jesus, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who is come and is to come in the name of the Lord God". These words are read to the congregation thrice. The congregation then repeats, "Hosanna! ", and the flowers are scattered, a common custom in Indian celebrations. This symbolizes Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Indian Orthodoxy traces its roots to the arrival in India of Saint Thomas the Apostle (traditionally dated to AD 52) and his evangelism among both the Brahmans of the Malabar Coast and the ancient Jewish community there. Its rites and ceremonies are Jewish, Indian and Levantine Christian, in origin. In Syro Malabar Catholic Church's palm leaves are blessed during Palm Sunday ceremony and a Procession takes place holding the palms.

In Ireland's cold climate, real palm leaves are generally not available, so yew, silver fir, spruce or cypress are used instead; it is known in Irish as Domhnach an Iúir, "Yew Sunday." The historian Patrick Weston Joyce noted that yew was always called "palm" in his 1830s childhood, and he only later learned the tree's correct name. "Palm" branches were often worn in the buttonhole or hung on the wall; the second practise is still common, and palm branches are blessed with holy water at Catholic Masses. In the past in some areas, a palm stem was charred and a cross was marked on eggs set for hatching, while in parts of Counties Galway and Mayo, shredded palm was mixed through the seed grain. The coincidence of Palm Sunday and Saint Patrick's Day (March 17), "when the shamrock and the palm are worn together," was said to presage a great event; this last happened in 1940, at the beginning of the Second World War, and will not reoccur until 2391.

In Italy, palm leaves are used along with small olive branches, readily available in the Mediterranean climate. These are placed at house entrances (for instance, hanging above the door) to last until the following year's Palm Sunday. For this reason, usually palm leaves are not used whole, due to their size; instead, leaf strips are braided into smaller shapes. Small olive branches are also often used to decorate traditional Easter cakes, along with other symbols of birth, like eggs.

In Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful. Children are often awakened that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch.

When Christianity came to Lithuania, the plants which sprouted earliest were honored during spring feasts. The name "Palm Sunday" is a misnomer; the "verba" or "dwarfed spruce" is used instead. According to tradition, on the Saturday before Palm Sunday the Lithuanians take special care in choosing and cutting well formed branches, which the women folk decorate with flowers. The flowers are meticulously tied onto the branches, making the "Verba".

In Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, Palm Sunday (Shaa'nineh in Arabic) Is perhaps the best attended liturgy in the Christian Calendar, among the Orthodox, Catholic (Latin and Eastern), and Anglican Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion. On this day, children attend church with branches from olive and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven crosses and other symbols made from palm fronds and roses and a procession at the beginning of the liturgy, during which at some point, the priest will take an olive branch and splash holy water on the faithful.

All the parishes of Malta and Gozo on Palm Sunday (Maltese: Ħadd il Palm) bless the palm leaves and the olive leaves. Those parishes that have the statues of Good Friday bless the olive tree they put on the statues of "Jesus prays in the Olive Garden" (Ġesù fl Ort) and the "Betrayal of Judas" (il Bewsa ta' Ġuda). Also, many people take a small olive branch to their homes because it is a sacramental.

In the Saxon regions of the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster. In the Diocese of Groningen Leeuwarden, a great procession with oil lamps is held the night before Palm Sunday in honour of the Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen.

In the Philippines, a statue of Christ riding a donkey (the Humenta), or the presiding priest on horseback, is brought to the local church in a morning procession. Congregants line the route, waving palaspás (ornately woven palm branches) and spreading tapis (heirloom "aprons" made for this ritual) in imitation of the excited Jerusalemites. At the church parvise, a house, or the town plaza, children dressed as angels scatter flowers as they sing the day's antiphon Hosanna Filio David in the vernacular and to traditional tunes. The first Mass of the day then follows. Once blessed, the palaspás are brought home and placed on altars, doorways, and windows. The Church teaches that this is a sign of welcoming Christ into the home, but folk belief holds that the blessed palaspás are apotropaic, deterring evil spirits, lightning, and fires. Another folk custom is to feed pieces of blessed palaspás to roosters used in sabong (cockfighting); this was strongly discouraged by the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. In other provinces, the flowers strewn by the angels during the procession are added to the rice seeds being planted, in the belief that these will ensure a bountiful harvest.

Many Polish towns and villages (the best known are Lipnica Murowana in Lesser Poland and Łyse in Mazovia) organize artificial palm competitions. The biggest of those reach above in length; for example, the highest palm in 2008 was .

In Romania and Moldova, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor or simply Florii, translating Flowers' Sunday. This name has its roots in a pre Christian fertility festival, where flowers played a prominent role.

In Spain, there is a tradition at the Palmeral of Elche (Europe's largest palm grove) in which local people cover palm leaves from the sun to allow them to whiten, and then they tie and braid them into intricate shapes. A Spanish rhyming proverb states: Domingo de Ramos, quien no estrena algo, se le caen las manos ("On Palm Sunday, the hands drop off of those who fail to wear something new"). On Palm Sunday, it is customary to don new clothing or shoes.

In Syria, it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods for coins and candy.

In southern Wales and nearby portions of England, 'Sul y Blodau' or 'Flowering Sunday' is a grave decoration tradition commonly observed on Palm Sunday, although historically Flowering Sunday grave decoration was also observed on other days as well. Today, the names Palm Sunday and Flowering Sunday are used interchangeably in those regions. In 1829, Thomas Wallace of Llanbadoc, Monmouthshire published a poem which contains the first known reference to the custom being practiced only on Palm Sunday. Welsh cemetery cleaning and decoration traditions may have begun as an Easter celebration before becoming more commonly associated with Palm Sunday. As early as 1786, cleaning and flower decorations were attested by William Matthews during a tour of South Wales. Richard Warner attested in 1797 "the ornamenting of the graves of the deceased with various plants and flowers, at certain seasons, by the surviving relatives" and noted that Easter was the most popular time for this tradition. By 1803, Malkin's observations in "The Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of South Wales from materials collected during two excursions in the year 1803" reflect the shift away predominantly associating the custom with Easter.