Red is the color of blood and symbolizes love, fire, passion, and the blood of sacrifice. Red is worn on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, any day related to Jesus' Passion, on Pentecost and on the feast days of those who died for the faith (martyrs).
Red vestments are worn on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, all feasts of Our Lord's Passion, on Pentecost and on the feast days of martyrs.
Red – used on Palm Sunday and Good Friday symbolizes the fire of the Holy Spirit and the suffering of the Lord and the apostles. Violet or Purple – used in Advent and Lent to reflect sorrow, mourning and repentance.
Today, the celebration of Palm Sunday opens Holy Week. The priest blesses palms and distributes them to the congregation, and they are used in a procession through the church, recalling Christ's entry into Jerusalem.
The Greek Orthodox Church on Palm Sunday allows the faithful to consume fish, oil, and wine but not dairy products, eggs, chicken and red meat. In Ancient times, on this Holy day, palms were given to people in the shape of the moon, ships, donkeys, but the most common was the Cross.
Some of the most prominent symbols include: Palm fronds that are knotted into crosses. Palm leaves can be considered to symbolize victory and eternal life. These fronds can be swapped out for olive branches, yew branches, willow branches, and more.
Red is typically worn during Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Pentecost. This color signifies God's Love, blood, fire, and celebrations of Martyrs.
Red or purple are appropriate for Palm Sunday. During Holy Week, purple is used until the church is stripped bare on Maundy Thursday; the church remains stripped bare on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, though in some places black might be used on those days.
The symbolism of the color purple in this context has to do with penitence, remembrance, royalty, and spiritual wealth. The color purple is linked to Jesus leading up to his crucifixion in John 19:2: "And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe…"
Red is used at Pentecost, recalling the fiery tongues that descended upon the Apostles when they received the Holy Spirit, and also at feasts of the Holy Cross, Apostles, and martyrs, as symbol of their bloody passions (sufferings and deaths).
This is the precedent for the Catholic Church's custom of burning a candle (at all times) before the tabernacle – the gold house where the Eucharistic Body of Christ is reserved under lock and key. Such sanctuary or tabernacle lamps are often coloured red, though this is not prescribed by law.
There are four liturgical colours used that were coded by Paul VI in the Roman rite in 1969: white, green, red and purple. In addition to these, there are other colours, such as pink, light blue, gold and black, used in liturgical vestments only on some special occasions or as an alternative to canonical colours.
Mass Readings for Palm Sunday Year A (Passion Sunday)
Procession – Matthew 21:1-11: Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where he rode on a donkey and was greeted by crowds of people who praised him as the Son of David and King of Israel.
Red – Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Pentecost Sunday; celebrations of the Lord's Passion, of Apostles, and of Evangelists; celebrations of Martyrs. Green – Ordinary Time. Violet – Advent and Lent; Masses for the Dead.
How is it observed? Palm Sunday is often celebrated with processions and distribution of blessed palm leaves. In some churches, the palms are saved and burned into ashes to be used on Ash Wednesday of the next year. Some Christians fold the palm fronds into crosses and keep them in their homes.
Palm Sunday is a day for some Christians to practice spiritual reflection and recognize the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Most Christians observe the day by attending church services, praying, distributing or weaving palms in the shape of crosses, and attending feasts with family and friends.
Red evokes the color of blood, and therefore is the color of martyrs and of Christ's death on the Cross. Red also symbolizes fire, and therefore is the color of the Holy Spirit. Green is the color of growth. Blue is the color of the sky and in some rites honors Mary.
The palm branch represents victory and peace during the Lenten journey and frequently serves two liturgical functions in more than one physical form. The palm is a prominent holy object that helps Catholics prepare for the death and resurrection of our Savior.
Yes, you can eat meat on Palm Sunday. Sundays during Lent are still celebrations of the Resurrection. Abstinence from meat, the traditional form of lenten penance, occurs on Fridays during Lent.
Whereas horses were symbols of war, donkeys were symbols of peace and often used to enact treaties. There is more significance to the donkey in this story. Earlier I noted the donkey was tied up and had to be untied by the disciples. In five verses in Luke 19 the word “tied” or some form of it is mentioned.
Once he reached Jerusalem on what is now Palm Sunday, as the story goes, he ate figs. Thus, figs have become an important food on Palm Sunday. In modern context, that could mean fresh figs or something like fig pudding.
Like Easter Sunday, there are many food traditions associated with this sacred day. Figs have a rich association with Palm Sunday. There are several theories behind this. Jesus is supposed to have cursed the fig tree on his way to Jerusalem.