Holy Week Trivia I – Palm Sunday

A Catholic priest blessing palms on Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday:

1. marks the start of Holy Week!

2. is the 6th Sunday of Lent

3.  this year will be on April 17, 2001

4.  falls on the Sunday preceding Easter Sunday

5.  is also called The Passion Sunday, Willow Sunday, and Flower Sunday

6.  is practiced with the distribution of Palms, willows, and flowers

7.  is the day that remembers the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem 5 days before He was crucified

8. celebrations began in churches in Jerusalem before the 3rd or 4th century AD

9. tradition of waving and having palms blessed came from the time of Jesus when Jerusalem recognized Him as the Messiah and laid palm branches on his path as he entered Jerusalem

10. according to ancient Christian stories, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted with cheers from the people

11. falls between March to April each year

12. liturgical color is red

13. in Latvia is known as the “Pussy Willow Sunday”

14. in Bulgaria is known as “Tsvetnitsa”

15. in Kerala, South India is practiced by sprinkling flowers when the gospel is read out

16. in Finland is celebrated by children by dressing up as Easter witches and go door to door for coins and candy

17. is also practiced in some countries with parades and processions.

18. palms blessed this year will be burned and used as ash placed on foreheads in a cross  for Ash Wednesday the next year

19. palms are shaped into crosses to symbolize Jesus’ last hours on the cross

20. palms adorn Catholic homes from Palm Sunday and for the rest of the year