How many days until Palm Sunday?

About Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week in the Christian calendar, commemorating the account of Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, when crowds are described as laying palm branches in his path. It always falls on the Sunday exactly one week before Easter Sunday, which is why its date shifts from year to year rather than remaining fixed on the same day and month. Because Easter itself is set using a lunisolar calculation, determined as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or following the spring equinox, Palm Sunday inherits that same variability, since its position is defined purely relative to Easter rather than to any independent formula. In Western Christian practice, following the Gregorian calendar, this places Palm Sunday anywhere between mid-March and mid-April depending on the year. Many churches mark the day with services that include the blessing and distribution of palm fronds or, in regions where palms are not available, substitute branches such as olive or willow, along with a reading of the Passion narrative that anticipates the events of the coming week. Some communities hold outdoor processions in which congregants carry palm branches while walking or marching toward the church. A frequent point of confusion is treating Palm Sunday as an isolated holiday rather than understanding it as the formal opening of Holy Week, a period that also includes Maundy Thursday and Good Friday before culminating in Easter Sunday itself; its date and meaning only make full sense in that broader sequence. Eastern Orthodox churches, which calculate Easter using a different method, frequently observe their equivalent Palm Sunday on a different date than Western churches within the same calendar year.

Dates on this page are checked against public calendar sources. Spot something wrong? Let us know.