Palm Sunday

Definition and Meaning

Palm Sunday is the Sunday immediately preceding Easter. In the church calendar, it is the last Sunday of Lent and the first day of Holy Week. Because the date of Easter varies from year to year, Palm Sunday also moves, falling between March 15 and April 18. The word "palm" refers to trees of the palm family, and the palm tree mentioned in the Bible is generally identified as the date palm.

In Korean churches, the day is also called "Passion Sunday" (Gonan Juil), meaning the Sunday that opens Holy Week. In the older Western church calendar, however, the fifth Sunday of Lent was sometimes called "Passion Sunday." As a result, the day this name refers to may differ depending on the church or source.

Biblical and Historical Background

All four Gospels record that Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-19). On that occasion the crowd welcomed Jesus with cries of "Hosanna." The word "Hosanna" comes from Hebrew and means "save now." The account of the crowd carrying palm branches appears in John 12:13. Palm branches served as symbols of victory and welcome, and Revelation 7:9 likewise depicts a multitude "clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands."

The commemoration of this event with a procession is recorded in the travel account of Egeria, who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the late fourth century. The custom later spread to the Western church, where the day became established as an occasion for reading both the account of the entry into Jerusalem and the narrative of Jesus' Passion. Today the Catholic Church calls this day "Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord." The Revised Common Lectionary (a list of Scripture readings appointed according to the church calendar), used by many Protestant churches, likewise provides both a Liturgy of the Palms and a Liturgy of the Passion for worship on this day.

Practice in Korean Churches

• Many churches address both the entry into Jerusalem and the suffering of the cross in their sermons on this day. Many also begin special Holy Week early-morning prayer meetings or evening services on this Sunday.
• Some churches decorate the pulpit with palm branches, or congregants hold branches during worship. Some include a processional in which Sunday school children enter waving branches. Because palm trees are uncommon in Korea, leaves from other evergreens or paper branches are sometimes used instead.
• In churches that follow a liturgical tradition (a set form of worship), such as the Anglican Church of Korea, the blessing of the branches and a procession are followed by the reading of the Passion Gospel.
• The extent to which churches follow the church calendar and lectionary varies widely. The Puritan and Scottish Presbyterian traditions were cautious about observing holy days not explicitly prescribed in Scripture. Some churches influenced by these traditions observe the day without any special rite, simply marking it as the beginning of Holy Week.