6 Simple Ways to Celebrate Palm Sunday

The Catholic Church kicks off Holy week with Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is always the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It leads us into the final stretch of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving!

What color will the priest wear on Palm Sunday?

You will notice the priest’s vestments are red to signify Our Lord’s Passion that is about to take place this week.

What happens at Mass on Palm Sunday?

At Mass, the congregation usually receives blessed palm leaves to wave as the procession enters the sanctuary. This is to remind us of Jesus’ joyful entrance into Jerusalem on His donkey.

How to teach children about Palm Sunday

You can (and should!) make a big deal of Palm Sunday in your home and remind your children that this is the start of a very special week.

Simple Palm Sunday Activities

Here are some more activities to do as a family on Palm Sunday. 

Read the Palm Sunday Readings

First, you can read the Palm Sunday readings as a family before Mass. Have older children take turns reading with you. Be prepared for the (extra long!) Gospel reading. It is important to prepare your children that this week’s Gospel will be a little longer than normal. I suggest bringing a few crayons and coloring pages and maybe a new Holy Week book or two for your littlest Catholics in case they get antsy.

Pray the Divine Office

Choose at least one hour of today’s Divine Office to pray as a family.

Listen to Gregorian Chant

Listen to these beautiful Gregorian Chants for Palm Sunday.

Learn about the science of Judean date seeds

Learn about archaeologists finding a 2,000 year old Judean date! The city of Jerusalem would have been surrounded by palm trees that contained Judean dates – dates only found and grown in this region in the world. The link about will take you to a fascinating video sharing how scientists successfully grew some date tress from a 2,000 year old date seed! Just like our Faith, the plant lies dormant until watered and nourished.

Draw a picture

Learn how to draw Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. 

We love this series from Formed which has tons of Biblical how-to-draw videos.

Make a tasty dessert

Make Palm “Sundaes”! Our family has loved this simple Palm “Sundae” dessert to celebrate Palm Sunday. All you need is green ice cream, maraschino cherries, and fresh mint leaves.