About Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, when Christians remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem to crowds waving branches and shouting "Hosanna". In 2027 it falls on Sunday, 21 March 2027. Churches bless palm leaves and carry them in procession, and the day opens Holy Week; in Kerala it is Oshana Sunday or Kuruthola Perunnal.
On Palm Sunday morning, people walk into church carrying green leaves. In Kerala they are young coconut fronds, sometimes already folded into small crosses, and children wave them through the procession while the congregation sings Hosanna. The mood is glad but restrained, because everyone knows where the week leads.
What Palm Sunday remembers
All four Gospels tell how Jesus rode into Jerusalem a few days before the Passover, on a young donkey. The crowd spread their cloaks and cut branches on the road ahead of him. John's Gospel is the one that names the branches as palms. Matthew reads the scene as the fulfilment of Zechariah's prophecy of a humble king who comes riding on a donkey, not on a war horse.
Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
"Hosanna" is a Hebrew cry usually explained as "save us" or "save, we pray", which became a shout of praise. That is where Kerala's name for the day comes from: Oshana is the Malayalam form of Hosanna.
Christians read the day in two ways at once. It is a welcome for a king, and it is the start of the road to Good Friday. That is why Catholic and many Protestant churches read the whole Passion account at the Palm Sunday service, and why the Catholic missal calls it Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord.
How the date is set
Palm Sunday is always the Sunday before Easter, so it moves with Easter. Western churches keep Easter on the first Sunday after the church's full moon on or after 21 March, which puts Palm Sunday between 15 March and 18 April.
Churches in India generally keep the Western date, and that includes the Malankara Orthodox, who differ here from most Eastern Orthodox churches abroad. Their St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral in Kolkata, for example, held its Oshana service on 29 March 2026, the Western date. Russian, Greek and other Eastern Orthodox parishes calculate Easter on the Julian calendar, so their Palm Sunday can come up to five weeks later. In some years, as in 2025, the two dates fall together.
Palm Sunday opens Holy Week, which runs through Pesaha (Maundy Thursday) and Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
Oshana in Kerala: the kuruthola
Kerala's Christians call the day Oshana Njayar, Hosanna Sunday, or Kuruthola Perunnal, the feast of the tender palm leaf. The fronds are blessed at the start of the service and carried in a procession round the church, with the people singing Hosanna.
The details differ by church.
| Where | What happens |
|---|---|
| Syro-Malabar and Latin Catholic parishes, Kerala | Palm leaves blessed, then a procession around the church. Bishops lead the service at the cathedrals. |
| Malankara Orthodox and Jacobite churches | The Oshana service. Flowers, often marigolds, are scattered in the sanctuary during the Gospel, and the people answer the reading with "Hosanna". |
| San Thome, Chennai | An ecumenical procession each year by St Thomas Cathedral Basilica and the St Thomas CSI Tamil and English churches. |
| Velankanni basilica, Tamil Nadu | Services in English, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi for the pilgrims who start arriving before Easter. |
| Catholic parishes elsewhere | In the Western rite, palms are blessed outside the church and the people walk in together. |
The leaf does not go in the bin. Families take it home and keep it in front of a picture of Jesus, often until Christmas. On Pesaha, Maundy Thursday, many Saint Thomas Christian families press a cross made from the blessed kuruthola onto the unleavened Pesaha appam before it is baked.
What happens to last year's leaf depends on the church. Catholic families burn the old fronds and use the ash to mark their foreheads at the start of the next Lent. Jacobite and Orthodox churches keep an older custom of burning them outside the church on Christmas night, and some Catholic parishes have brought that practice back.
- Oshana
- Malayalam form of Hosanna; Oshana Njayar is Hosanna Sunday
- Kuruthola
- A tender palm leaf, in Kerala a young coconut frond
- Perunnal
- A feast day, in Kerala Christian usage
- Pesaha
- Maundy Thursday, from the word for Passover; also the unleavened appam eaten that night
- Kurutholai Nyayiru
- The Tamil name, Palm Leaf Sunday
What to write on Palm Sunday
A Palm Sunday wish should sound like Sunday morning, not a party. Most Christians say "Blessed Palm Sunday", and some say "Happy Palm Sunday"; both are fine from a friend. Mention the procession, the palm or the week ahead.
Remember the calendar. Your friend may be in the sixth week of a Lenten fast and about to spend long hours in church through Thursday and Friday, so don't send food jokes or plans for the weekend. If you are not sure which church someone belongs to, the Western date is right for nearly everyone in India; for an Eastern Orthodox friend, check before you write.
Blessed Oshana Sunday, Amma and Appa. Keep my kuruthola by the picture of Jesus until I'm home for Pesaha.
Wishing you a blessed Palm Sunday and a peaceful Holy Week ahead.
Blessed Palm Sunday. One more week of the fast. Hope the Hosanna this morning carries you to Easter.
Thinking of you on Palm Sunday. Hope your parish there found palm leaves for the procession, and that next year you walk it at home.
Thank you for leading us into Holy Week, Achen. Praying for you through the long services ahead.
Oshana njayar ashamsakal. (Palm Sunday wishes.)
How to wish someone on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a day of quiet joy at the door of the hardest week in the Christian year. A good wish is short and devotional: a blessed Palm Sunday, a peaceful Holy Week, a line about the procession or the Hosanna. Malayali Christians say "Oshana njayar ashamsakal". Leave out party words, and remember that many people are still keeping the Lenten fast.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Malayalam + Tamil, Konkani.
When is Palm Sunday in each year?
Palm Sunday is set by the Christian liturgical calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 8 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028
Frequently asked questions
When is Palm Sunday in 2027?
Palm Sunday 2027 falls on Sunday, 21 March 2027.
Why do Christians carry palm leaves on Palm Sunday?
Christians carry palm leaves on Palm Sunday because the Gospels describe crowds cutting branches and spreading them on the road as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The leaves are blessed in church and carried in procession, as a welcome to Christ at the start of Holy Week.
What does Hosanna mean?
Hosanna is a Hebrew cry usually translated as "save us" or "save, we pray", which became a shout of praise. The crowd used it to greet Jesus in Jerusalem, and Kerala's name for Palm Sunday, Oshana Njayar, comes from it.
What should you do with the palm leaf after Palm Sunday?
Keep it at home, usually in front of a picture of Jesus, because it has been blessed. In Kerala a cross from the kuruthola often goes on the Pesaha appam on Maundy Thursday, and the next year Catholic families burn the old leaf for Lenten ash, while Jacobite and Orthodox churches burn it outside the church on Christmas night.
Can you say "Happy Palm Sunday"?
Yes, many Christians say it, but "Blessed Palm Sunday" fits the day better. Palm Sunday opens Holy Week, which leads to Good Friday, so a short, devotional wish is safer than a cheerful one.
Why is Palm Sunday called Kuruthola Perunnal in Kerala?
Kuruthola means a tender palm leaf, usually a young coconut frond, and perunnal means feast, so Kuruthola Perunnal is the feast of the palm leaf. Kerala Christians also call the day Oshana Njayar, Hosanna Sunday.
Do Orthodox churches in India keep Palm Sunday on a different date?
Indian churches, including the Malankara Orthodox, generally keep the same Western date as Catholics and Protestants. Only Eastern Orthodox parishes that follow the Julian calendar, such as Russian or Greek congregations, may keep Palm Sunday up to five weeks later.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .