By Kathy Bolano, Communications Intern
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the last week in Lent, and commemorates Jesus’s final entry into Jerusalem.
According to all four of the Gospels, spectators welcomed and celebrated Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem by covering the path with palm leaves and cloaks, a custom for someone thought to be of the highest honor. Because of this, the Jewish judicial body of Jerusalem perceived these actions as Jesus proclaiming that he was the King of Israel. This angered them and lead them to go to Pontius Pilate, which ultimately lead to Jesus’s persecution and death on Good Friday and subsequent resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Today, Christians celebrate this day by going to mass, where palm leaves and branches are distributed to the congregation. They are often woven or knotted into crosses that are kept until the following year as a reminder of Holy week.
During this holy time for Christians, the Niagara Foundation would like to extend their respect and celebrate Palm Sunday.