{"id":23967,"date":"2026-03-11T15:26:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/palm-sunday-faith-on-parade\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:17:21","slug":"palm-sunday-faith-on-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/prayer\/holiday-prayers\/palm-sunday-faith-on-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Palm Sunday Parade?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDoes your church march around outside on Palm Sunday?\u201d a friend emailed me. I considered for a moment lying and telling him, \u201cNo, we don\u2019t. Not at our church.\u201d I was afraid he wouldn\u2019t come if I told him my church did a Palm Sunday parade.<\/p>\n

I understood his hesitation. It sounds pretty embarrassing, doesn\u2019t it? Being part of church congregation and marching outside, carrying palms, worshipping on a busy New York City block. I don\u2019t expect we make a pretty picture. It\u2019s always a big congregation on Palm Sunday and getting everybody organized to march outside and go down the block is unwieldy. What if someone was looking? What if someone he knew saw him?<\/p>\n

But we should remember, there is a history and meaning to this Palm Sunday tradition.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration
Illustration of a Palm Sunday parade in Venice (19th century) <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is a Palm Sunday Parade?<\/h3>\n

A Palm Sunday parade, also called the palm procession, is when a church congregation parades outside after the palm fronds are blessed.<\/strong> The parade usually includes singing, prayer, and members of the church wearing religious vestments while carrying important religious icons, items, and the blessed palm fronds.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: 5 Palm Sunday Devotions<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The
Fresco of Entry of Jesus in Jerusalem (Palm Sunday parade) by Lattanzio Gambara (1567-1573) <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Meaning of Palm Sunday Parades<\/h3>\n

Palm Sunday parades commemorate Jesus\u2019 triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The scene is described in various New Testament gospels, specifically the Book of Matthew, the Book of Mark, the Book of Luke, and the Book of John. The palms signify how the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus on the city streets with palm fronds in their hands. As John 12:12-13 states:<\/p>\n

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, \u201cHosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

READ MORE: 15 Palm Sunday Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\"Members
\n\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Palm Sunday Parade Reflection<\/h3>\n

Our congregation tries to sing while we process, making our loud \u201cHosannas. The front part of the procession usually gets ahead of the back part of the procession so we don\u2019t even end up singing together. We\u2019re just a disjoint group of people staring at programs and hymnals, stuck at a traffic signal.<\/p>\n

And yet, I\u2019m always struck by the wonder of it. Palm Sunday is a chance to take our faith outside and put it on parade. What an occasion of witness.<\/p>\n

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Palm Sunday is a chance to take our faith outside and put it on parade.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Maybe someone will look up from their Sunday Times<\/em>, glance out the window and think, \u201cThose people must really believe in what they\u2019re doing or they wouldn\u2019t risk looking so foolish.\u201d But remember that Paul made the point in his letter to the Corinthians that what looks foolish to the world can be God\u2019s wisdom at work, \u201cbecause the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MembersMaybe foolishness itself is important to experience on Palm Sunday. Think of how self-conscious the disciples must have felt when they were walking along behind Jesus on the colt with the people shouting, \u201cHosanna to the Son of David.\u00a0Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t they worry about being noticed?\u00a0Weren\u2019t the apostles wary of what this hosanna-singing crowd really thought?\u00a0After all, in less than a week, some of these same people waving their palm branches would be urging the authorities to crucify Jesus.<\/p>\n

The phrase that comes to mind for this little Palm Sunday parade is \u201critual humiliation.\u201d\u00a0The events of Holy Week, after all, led to a tremendous, monstrous humiliation.\u00a0When we celebrate Holy Week we walk through what Jesus\u2019 followers felt\u2013their bewilderment, their despair, their fear and their faltering faith.<\/p>\n

\"Members<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t I feel all those things when I contemplate Jesus\u2019 suffering?<\/p>\n

Palm Sunday is a mixed celebration, a parade that ends in a minor key.\u00a0Sorrow hovers close by.\u00a0We start out singing hymns of praise and then we end contemplating the Crucifixion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we walk outside on Palm Sunday,\u201d I wrote back to my friend. \u201cIt\u2019s a little embarrassing and I\u2019m sure we look foolish, but it\u2019s a good foolishness. It\u2019s a way to welcome what is coming, a getting ready for Easter, which has always looked like foolishness to the world. Come to church with us. I\u2019ll give you a palm frond of your own to carry.\u201d I hope he comes this year.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ABOUT PALM SUNDAY AND HOLY WEEK:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n