Editing Palm Sunday (section)

==Customs==
{{Death of Jesus}}
It is customary in many churches for worshippers to receive fresh palm leaves on Palm Sunday. In parts of the world where this has historically been impractical, substitute traditions have arisen.

===Belgium===
In [[Hoegaarden]], one of the last remaining Palm Sunday processions takes place every year. A fellowship of Twelve Apostles carries a wooden statue of Christ around the town, while children go door to door offering the palms ([[Buxus|box]]) for coins.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Festivals of Europe|last=Towers)|first=Cooper, Gordon (Charles Gordon|date=1994|publisher=Omnigraphics|isbn=9780780800052|location=Detroit|oclc=28422673}}</ref>

===Bulgaria===
In [[Bulgaria]], Palm Sunday is known as ''Tsvetnitsa'' ({{lang|bg|tsvete|italic=yes}}, "flower") or ''Vrabnitsa'' (''varba'', "willow"), or [[Flower's Day]].  People with flower-related names (e.g., {{not a typo|Bilyan(a), Liliya, Margarita, Nevena, Ralitsa, Rosa, Temenuzhka, Tsvetan(a), Tsvetelin(a), Tsvetin(a), Tsvetko, Violeta, Yavor, Zdravko, Zjumbjul}}, etc.) celebrate this day as their [[name day]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.plovdivguide.com/_m1703/Traditions-Namedays/TSVETNITSA---VRUBNITSA-Palm-Sunday----no-fixed-date-518 |title=Palm Sunday |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406160902/http://www.plovdivguide.com/_m1703/Traditions-Namedays/TSVETNITSA---VRUBNITSA-Palm-Sunday----no-fixed-date-518 |archive-date=6 April 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===England===
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.<ref>Frood & Graves p.&nbsp;10</ref>

===Egypt and Ethiopia===
In the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] and [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|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.

===Finland===
[[File:Easter witches in Nissilä IM5293 C.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Easter witches in Finland]]
In [[Finland]], it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods and trade decorated [[pussy willow]] branches for coins and candy. This is an old [[Karelia]]n custom called ''[[virpominen]]''.

It is customary for the children to chant, with some variation, "Virvon varvon tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks, vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vartsi.net/2016/03/21/virvon-varvon-tuoreeks-terveeks-2/ |title=Virvon varvon tuoreeks terveeks… |last=Väänänen |first=Vuokko |date=21 March 2016 |website=Värtsilän verkkolehti |access-date=25 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926143600/http://www.vartsi.net/2016/03/21/virvon-varvon-tuoreeks-terveeks-2/ |archive-date=26 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> which very roughly translates as "I'm wishing you a fresh, healthy upcoming year, a branch for you, a prize for me!" The chant has been translated in [[Juha Vuorinen]]'s novel ''Totally Smashed!'' as "Willow switch, I'm the Easter witch! I wish you health and a love that's rich! From me I bring some luck today, for this branch what will you pay?"<ref>{{Cite book |last= Vuorinen|first= Juha |translator= Leonard Pearl|year= 2017|title= Totally Smashed!|publisher= Diktaatori|page= 165|isbn= 978-9525474756}}</ref>

===Germany===
[[File:Palmesel MNMA Cl23799.jpg|thumb|upright|Wooden Palmesel]]

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.

===India===

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]].

[[File:Marigolds in the sanctuary.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Flowers (in this instance [[Tagetes|marigolds]]) strewn about the sanctuary in an [[Oriental Orthodox]] church in [[Mumbai]], India, on Palm Sunday]]
In the [[South India]]n 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.
[[File:Palm sunday in Malankara ( 861 X 1080 ).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Palm Sunday in [[Malankara Orthodox Church|Malankara Church]] ([[Oriental Orthodox]]) of [[Kerala]] – People holding tender leaves of coconut palms (kuruthola) and flowers are thrown upwards during Gospel reading]]

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article1705828.ece |title=National / Kerala : Traditional services mark Palm Sunday |newspaper=The Hindu|date=2011-04-18 |access-date=2012-06-10}}</ref>

===Ireland===
In [[Ireland]]'s cold climate, real palm leaves are generally not available, so [[Taxus baccata|yew]], [[Abies alba|silver fir]], [[Picea abies|spruce]] or [[Cupressus sempervirens|cypress]] are used instead; it is known in [[Irish language|Irish]] as ''Domhnach an Iúir'', "Yew Sunday."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxzDDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22palm+sunday%22+ireland&pg=PT166|title=English As We Speak It in Ireland|first=P. W.|last=Joyce|date=26 November 2019|publisher=Good Press|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/PalmSunday.html|title=Palm Sunday in old Ireland - World Cultures European|website=www.irishcultureandcustoms.com}}</ref> 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 Mass]]es.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thefadingyear.wordpress.com/2021/03/28/irish-folklore-for-palm-sunday-domhnach-an-iuir/|title=Irish Folklore for Palm Sunday – Domhnach an Iúir|first=the Fading|last=Year|date=28 March 2021}}</ref>

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.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aleteia.org/2022/04/09/5-fascinating-irish-palm-sunday-traditions-you-might-not-know-about/|title=5 Fascinating Irish Palm Sunday traditions you might not know about|date=9 April 2022|website=Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture}}</ref>

===Italy===
[[File:Sturno Domenica delle Palme.jpg|thumb|Palm Sunday in [[Sturno]], Italy]]
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.

===Latvia===
In Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful.<ref>{{cite web|website=Mirabilis.ca|url=http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/002788.html|title=Archives|date=June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027083246/http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/002788.html|archive-date=27 October 2007}}</ref> Children are often awakened that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Latvia {{!}} Baltic Tenacity |url=https://u.osu.edu/baltictenacity/latvia/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=u.osu.edu}}</ref>

===Lithuania===
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".{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

===The Levant===
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 [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox]], Catholic ([[Latin Church|Latin]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern]]), and [[Anglican]] Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Life Worth Living: The Story of a Palestinian Catholic|first=Bernard|last= Sabella|year= 2017| isbn=9781532615306|page =178|publisher=Resource Publications}}</ref> On this day, children attend church with branches from [[olive]] and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven [[cross]]es and other symbols made from palm fronds and [[rose]]s 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

===Malta===
All the parishes of [[Malta]] and [[Gozo]] on Palm Sunday ([[Maltese language|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 [[Sacramentals|sacramental]].{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

===Netherlands===
In the [[Dutch Low Saxon|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]].

===Philippines===
{{See also|Holy Week in the Philippines}}

[[File:San Carlos Pangasinan Palm Sunday Procession 2024-03-24.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Palm fronds being blessed in [[San Carlos, Pangasinan|San Carlos]], [[Pangasinan]], Philippines.]]
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 [[rooster]]s used in [[Cockfight#Philippines|''sabong'']] (cockfighting); this was strongly discouraged by the [[Archbishop of Manila]], Cardinal [[Luis Antonio Tagle]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 16, 2017 |title=Ilocoslovakia and the youth in me - HERALD EXPRESS {{!}} News in Cordillera and Northern Luzon |url=https://www.baguioheraldexpressonline.com/ilocoslovakia-and-the-youth-in-me/ |access-date=May 2, 2022|language=en-US}}</ref> 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.

===Poland===
[[File:87365 Palm Sunday.jpg|thumb|upright|A palm in [[Łyse, Masovian Voivodeship|Łyse]], [[Poland]]]]
Many [[Poland|Polish]] towns and villages organize decorated [[Easter palm]] competitions: the best known are [[Lipnica Murowana]] in [[Lesser Poland]] and [[Łyse, Masovian Voivodeship|Łyse]] in [[Mazovia]]. The biggest of those reach above {{convert|30|m|sp=us}} in length; for example, the highest palm in 2008 was {{convert|33.39|m|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.realpoland.eu/the-easter-palm-sunday/ |title=The Easter Palm Sunday |publisher=Realpoland.eu |access-date=2018-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410214825/https://www.realpoland.eu/the-easter-palm-sunday/ |archive-date=10 April 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Romania and Moldova===
In [[Romania]] and [[Moldova]], Palm Sunday is known as ''Duminica Floriilor'' or simply ''Florii'', translating ''Flowers' Sunday''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://tourinromania.com/reasons-to-visit-romania/easter-traditions-in-romania/ | title=You want to know more about Easter Traditions in Romania? | date=5 December 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.moldova.org/en/moldovan-christians-celebrate-palm-sunday-229645-eng/ | title=Moldovan Christians celebrate Palm Sunday | date=8 April 2012 }}</ref> This name has its roots in a pre-Christian fertility festival, where flowers played a prominent role.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.studyromanian.com/post/2017/04/06/duminica-floriilor-the-palm-sunday | title=Duminica Floriilor – the Palm Sunday | date=13 April 2017 }}</ref>

===Spain===
{{See also|Holy Week in Spain}}

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.
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spainisculture.com/en/propuestas_culturales/elche_la_artesania_de_la_palma_blanca_y_el_calzado.html |title=The city of Elche, known for its arts and crafts tradition, in Spain is Culture |publisher=Spainisculture.com |access-date=2018-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015044246/http://www.spainisculture.com/en/propuestas_culturales/elche_la_artesania_de_la_palma_blanca_y_el_calzado.html |archive-date=15 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[Spanish proverbs|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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Need Some Easter Sunday Outfit Ideas? Here Are A Few Fashionable (and Affordable) Looks|url=https://www.womansday.com/style/fashion/a19375288/what-to-wear-easter-sunday/|last1=Murtaugh|first1=Taysha|last2=Hanrahan|first2=Laura|date=2020-03-09|website=Woman's Day|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-15}}</ref>

===Syria===
In [[Syria]], it is popular for children to go door to door in neighborhoods, chanting about Lazarus' rising from the dead, for which they are given coins or eggs.<ref>Before the Syrian civil war (2011–present), authors documented the traditions e.g. in Tanya Gulevich, ''Encyclopedia of Easter, Carnival, and Lent'' (Bloomington: Indiana University: 2009), 345. {{ISBN|978-0780804326}}; and Patricia Lysaght, ''Food and Celebration: From Fasting to Feasting. Proceedings of the 13th Conference of the International Commission for Ethnological Food Research, Ljubljana, Preddvor, and Piran, Slovenia, June 5–11, 2000'' (Ljubljana: Založba, 2002), 155. {{ISBN|978-9616358545}}</ref>

===Wales===
{{Main|Flowering Sunday}}
[[File:Flowering Sunday grave decorations in South Wales circa 1907 (first postcard).jpg|thumb|upright=1|These Flowering Sunday grave decorations were photographed in South Wales {{Circa|1907}}]]

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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=William |title=The miscellaneous companions, Vol. I Being a short tour of observation and sentiment, through a part of South Wales |date=1786 |pages=50–51}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Malkin |title=The Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of South Wales from materials collected during two excursions in the year 1803. Embellished with views drawn on the spot and engraved by Laporte and a map of the county |date=1904 |pages=67–69}}</ref>