Palm Sunday is one of the most important religious holidays in Bulgaria, which is celebrated every year on a different date.

This is the day Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem, being greeted by the crowd with palm branches and flowers.

In 2023, Palm Sunday will fall on April 9.

On this day, willow branches are a symbol of this religious event. 

When is Palm Sunday in the coming years?

The holiday will be celebrated on April 28, 2024, April 13, 2025, and April 5, 2026.

What do flowers "say"?

History of the Tsvetnitsa holiday

Palm Sunday is a religious and national holiday celebrated by the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches.

It is dedicated to the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

According to the Bible, after resurrecting Lazarus, Jesus went to Jerusalem with his disciples.

Before entering the city, he sent two of them to bring him a donkey from the village of Bethphagia.

Jesus sat on it and thus solemnly entered Jerusalem.

What does the Tsvetnitsa tradition dictate?

Willow branches are what everyone associates with the Palm Sunday holiday.

This tradition stems from the belief that willow branches will protect your home from evil, disease and bring you health and prosperity.

The willow branches and flowers brought by the laity are consecrated and given to all who attended the festive liturgy in the church.

Then they are twisted in the shape of a wreath and hung on the door, writes actualno.com

The Tsvetnitsa meal

Palm Sunday coincides with the second day of Lent, when it is permitted to eat fish.

There should only be lean dishes on the table, such as beans, potato salad, bean salad, olives, green salad or nettle dishes, and fish is the exception to this rule.

Who's celebrating?

A name day is celebrated by all those who have names derived from plant names: Angel(ina), Bilyana, Bozhura, Violetta, Varba, Verban, Verbinka, Gergin(a), Grozdan(k)a, Dahlia, Dafina, Delia, Delyan (a), Dilyan(a), Dimitar - the other name of the Virgin is Dimitrovche, Dinka, Detelin(a), Elitsa - comes from Ela, Jasmina, Zdravka, Zdravko, Zyumbyul(ka), Iva, Iglika, Kalin(a) ) Smilyan(a), Violet, Violet, Trendafil(ka), Fidan(k), Angel(ina), Tsveta, Tsvetan(a), Tsvetanka, Tsvetelin(a), Tsvetomir(a), Tsvetoslav(a), Tsvyatko, Cherry, Maple(a), Strawberry, Ash(a), Yasmina and all with names of flowers and trees. 

church holiday

Flower Sunday