Christians Celebrate Palm Sunday

Christians around the world celebrated Palm Sunday today. The day marks Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on the week leading up to his death and resurrection on Easter Sunday. Palm Sunday is also called Passion Sunday in some churches. The Bible says that when Jesus entered Jerusalem the people greeted him waving palms and covered his walking path with palm branches.

Palm Sunday is the sixth and final Sunday of Lent and it marks the start of the Holy Week. Ceremonies taking place on Palm Sunday include the blessing of the palms and a procession symbolizing Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Palms are used in all nations as a sign of joy and victory. The palms are to be taken home by the attendees and placed in prominent places around the home. In locations where Palms cannot be found other tree branches like olive or spruce are used as a substitute.

Pope Benedict presided over the Palm Sunday mass this morning at the Vatican. The Pope’s prayers today asked to help young people and those who help educate and protect them. The Catholic Church is again involved in a church sex scandal where some children were abused by priests. Tens of thousands of people attended the Pope’s service this morning.