With a scent of spring and anticipation of the great Resurrection of Christ, Palm Sunday is among the most beloved holidays in Bulgaria. From early morning, people fill the churches and share their joy through prayer at the festive service. In addition to churchgoers who regularly attend services, the holiday captivates many with its atmosphere and everyone rushes to take a piece of it home with the blessed willow branches that the priests distribute. They are consecrated in the church with a special prayer before the liturgy. Christians place the willow branch above the icon of the Savior or on the front door of their home to remind them of His welcoming and that He is the King in the kingdom of heaven.

• What do we celebrate on Palm Sunday and what are God's visits in our lives?

"However, the emphasis of these holidays should not fall on the flowers and on folk customs. It is good, as enlightened Orthodox Christians, to know what happened on these days," says Father Kliment Harizanov from the capital's church "Holy Transfiguration of the Lord". According to him, the remembrance of these events is of great importance for the Salvation of the human soul and the difficult paths that lead to it.

• Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday – the heralds of Easter

The holiday is also associated with the expectation of the people, who learned the news of the raising of Lazarus, that the longed-for turnaround and salvation from the sufferings of life would occur in their lives. Therefore, they covered the ground with palm branches and greeted Jesus Christ with "Hosanna!", because they saw the fulfilment of the prophecy that the King of the Jews would come to "proclaim peace to the nations" in the city of peace – Jerusalem.

This motif of God's unexpected visitation unfolds during the vespers, after the festive commemoration of the Entrance of the Lord. The words of Jesus Christ that the day of God will come unexpectedly and believers must be awake and prepared to meet it with deeds of mercy are recalled:

"To be awake means to be aware that our life is not something insignificant, but a field on which the greatest battle takes place - the one for every human soul," says priest Boris Borisov from the "Transfiguration of the Lord" Church in Sofia.

• Holy Week is a reminder of the meaning of eternal life in God

An anticipated and beloved holiday, Palm Sunday is always the Sunday after Lazarus Day and before the Resurrection of Christ. Name day is celebrated by people who bear flower names – ranging the traditional Tsvetan, Tsvetanka, Nevena, Temenuzhka, Iglika, Gergina, Varban, Varbinka, etc. to names that entered the Bulgarian naming tradition later, such as: Dahlia, Camellia, Veronica…

• Folk Studio: Tsvetnitsa – to carry the name of a flower, with wishes for youth and beauty

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: BTA, bg-patriarshia.bg, library