Main points:<\/strong><\/p>\n When we celebrate in 2026<\/p>\n The date of Palm Sunday directly depends on the day of Easter celebration. Since Orthodox Easter in 2026 falls on April 12, Palm Sunday will be celebrated on April 5<\/strong>. Importantly, this date is common for those adhering to both the new Julian and Julian calendars.<\/p>\n Western rite Christians (Catholics) will celebrate Easter a week earlier – on April 5. Accordingly, Catholic Palm Sunday will occur on March 29<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Church features and liturgy<\/p>\n According to church regulations, on Sunday, April 5, a liturgy<\/strong> according to the rite of St. John Chrysostom will be held. During the all-night vigil, after the reading of the Gospel, a special rite takes place – the blessing of willow branches<\/strong> with holy water.<\/p>\n Interestingly, despite the continuation of Great Lent, on this festive day the church calendar allows believers some leniency in dietary restrictions – fish is permitted<\/strong>.<\/p>\n History and traditions of the holiday<\/p>\n The holiday is dedicated to Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolizing His humility and non-violent authority. At that time, the city’s inhabitants welcomed Him as King, laying palm branches<\/strong> along His path.<\/p>\n In Slavic countries, where palm trees do not grow, they are replaced by willow branches<\/strong> – the first plant to bloom in spring. In Ukraine, the holiday has several folk names: Palm Sunday, Colorful Sunday<\/strong>.<\/p>\n After the blessing of the willow in church<\/strong>, hosts traditionally try to bring it home as quickly as possible and place it in the corner under the icons. There is also an ancient custom of “hitting” each other with the blessed branches, saying: “It’s not me hitting – the willow hits, in a week it’s Easter, not far off is the red egg!”<\/p>\n It is believed that this rite brings health and well-being for the entire year, and young people wish each other to be “big as a willow, and healthy as water.”<\/strong><\/p>\n Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported on the main church dates in March 2026 according to the new Julian calendar of the OCU. We discussed when the memorial Saturdays fall, which events of Great Lent are the most significant, and when the Annunciation will be celebrated.<\/p>\n The following sources were used in writing this material: the church calendar for 2026, the OCU website, wikipedia.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Orthodox Christians and Catholics will celebrate Palm Sunday on different days. Palm Sunday, or the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, is one of the twelve major feasts and is among the most revered in the Christian calendar. It marks the beginning of the last week before Easter – Holy Week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"magazine_newspaper_sidebar_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-en"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nPalm Sunday in the Orthodox church calendar (screenshot: pomisna.info)<\/p>\n