Congratulations on Palm Sunday and its meaning

In the spring there comes a holiday marking the date of the Lord's entrance to Jerusalem - Palm Sunday. It is always celebrated a week before Easter. Why is this day so called? The fact is that this holiday is called the Palm Sunday only in the northern Christian countries - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in general the Sunday preceding Pascha is called Palmov. The history of Palm Sunday is revealed in all four Gospels.

When Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, people, to greet Him, cut off the palm branches and threw them under the hooves of the donkey and the colt on which the Lord rode. People sang to Him hosanna, palms along their palm branches along the route of the cortege and welcomed Christ as the Messiah, the future King of Israel and the Savior. The essence of this holiday is precisely to feel the approach of the main holiday of Christianity - the Resurrection of the Lord, therefore congratulations on Palm Sunday should reflect its deep meaning.

Palm Sunday was celebrated by the Christian Church in the fourth century, and in the tenth century. He began to be celebrated in Russia. Since palms do not grow in Russia, people celebrate the day of the entrance of the Lord to Jerusalem, they cut off willow branches - thus, soon the holiday itself became known as Palm Sunday. Why just pussy-willow? This tree blooms before others. The gentle fluffy "seals" of pussy will remind of spring, the imminent resurrection of nature and, in a broader sense, the Resurrection of our Lord. Before this holiday, it is customary to cut off twigs of flowering willows, festively decorate them with ribbons and carry them with a burning candle to the temple, where they sprinkle them with holy water. After this, the branches are brought into the house and stored as a talisman before Pentecost. Previously, it was a custom to joke about the branches of willows of children so that they would grow up healthy, and bring greetings to Palm Sunday to all relatives and friends.

On this day it was allowed to eat fish, but from Monday after the holiday a strict fast began , which by tradition began the Passion Week. The festival of the solemn entrance of the Lord to Jerusalem is, first of all, the remembrance of the day when Christ entered the path of God's suffering. Therefore, congratulations on Palm Sunday should take into account the specifics of the holiday. After all, what did the Lord do first when he entered the city? He came to the temple and drove out all those who bought and sold, saying: "My house is called the house of prayer, and you made a den of robbers out of it." And short congratulations with Palm Sunday should wish a person to purify his soul from vain, mercantile thoughts and prepare it for the proper celebration of Easter.

Further, Jesus Christ healed the infirm, who came to him. These weak people sincerely believed that Christ is the Messiah who came from above to save the human race. Therefore, their faith also healed them. Congratulations on Palm Sunday may contain wishes for health, getting rid of hardships and worries. Wishing many years of life and health, still do not forget that Palm Sunday is a religious holiday, not a birthday. In his wishes, it is worth invoking the guardian angel of a person to patronize him, expressing the hope that God will not allow misfortune to happen to him.

According to an old custom, on the Palm Sunday baked bread, one of them baked a coin. Who will get a loaf of bread with a coin, he will be happy and successful throughout the year, and if a coin finds a girl in the bread for extortion, in the same year she will successfully marry. Congratulations on the Palm holiday were not limited to the wishes of health to the household. We wished health and a litter of cattle (for this purpose fed her sprinkled willows of willow sprinkled with water).

People's signs consider this day important for the future harvest: if the weather is windy, frosty, then the spring will give a good harvest.