When is Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, commemorates Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and opens Holy Week. Its date changes each year with Easter.
Palm Sunday — Catholic · Protestant (Western): the next date is March 21, 2027.
Palm Sunday — Greek Orthodox: the next date is April 25, 2027.
Palm Sunday — Armenian Apostolic: the next date is March 21, 2027.
Palm Sunday — Syriac Orthodox: the next date is April 25, 2027.
Palm Sunday follows each tradition's own Easter date; in the Orthodox and Syriac calendars it usually falls on a different Sunday than in the West.
Dates year by year — Western tradition
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | — Sunday |
| 2027 | — Sunday |
| 2028 | — Sunday |
| 2029 | — Sunday |
Catholic · Protestant (Western)
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | |
| 2027 | |
| 2028 |
Greek Orthodox
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | |
| 2027 | |
| 2028 |
Armenian Apostolic
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | |
| 2027 | |
| 2028 |
Syriac Orthodox
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | |
| 2027 | |
| 2028 |
Meaning and history
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and opens the door to Holy Week. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus entered Jerusalem — crowded with Passover pilgrims — riding on a young donkey; people spread their cloaks and cut branches on the road and welcomed him with shouts of "Hosanna!". John's Gospel notes that the branches in the crowd's hands were palm branches, which gives the day its name. The entry is read as the fulfilment of the prophet Zechariah's words, "your King comes to you!... lowly, and riding on a donkey": the expected king arrives not on a war horse but on a donkey, a sign of peace. Within the same week the shouts of joy give way to trial and crucifixion, giving Palm Sunday the character of a threshold — both festive and shadowed by what follows. In many church traditions palm or olive branches are carried on this day, in some they are blessed and taken home, and the previous year's branches are burned to ash for Ash Wednesday, which opens Lent. The date of Palm Sunday depends on Easter and ranges between 15 March and 18 April.