Palmzondag (Palm Sunday)

Yesterday, we've attended holy mass for Palmzondag (Palm Sunday) in Sint-Jozefkathedraal in Groningen... We received this plant (as you see in the photo) from the church as our palm leaves.

I remember in the Philippines, on Palm Sunday holy mass, catholic church goers didn't want to miss this holy mass because it is only once in a year for the special blessings of those palm leaves. Somehow, I miss the Holy Week activities in Parish of the Holy Family, in Karuhatan, everyday there's activity beginning Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, like Pasyon/Pabasa, Washing of feet on Maundy Thursday, Senakulo, Easter vigil and some other holy week activities in Philippines

Here in St. Vitus Parochie (Parish) there are activites too, but I'm not yet good in dutch language, so for sure I can't understand everything or every part of the activities then...

Anyway, while searching with some tradition here in Holland during Palm Sunday, I've read this part in Wikipedia -

Palm Sunday tradition in Netherlands

In the Saxon regions of the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster. In the diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden a great procession with oil lamps is held the night before Palm Sunday in honour of the Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen.

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I've seen this kind of tradition last year when we've attended Holy mass in dutch language here in St. Vitus Parochie, in Winschoten.... Indeed, Palm Sunday commemorates an event mentioned in the the Bible. Especially the Reading (Jn 12:12-16) during the Procession with Palm leaves...
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Jn 12:12-16

When the great crowd that had come to the feast heard
that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out:
"Hosanna!
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
the king of Israel."
Jesus found an ass and sat upon it, as is written:
Fear no more, O daughter Zion;
see, your king comes, seated upon an ass's colt.
His disciples did not understand this at first,
but when Jesus had been glorified
they remembered that these things were written about him
and that they had done this for him.