Christians begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday

Worshipers marked the start of Holy Week on Sunday, attending Palm Sunday services and joining in fasting and prayers.

Churches across the country, from Kerala to Mizoram, held special services with large palm branches being carried in processions.

In Kochi, main services were held at St Mary's Basilica and St Francis Assisi Cathedral church. In Mizoram, children led by Sunday school teachers took to the streets in every village carrying palm leaves and chanting Bible verses.

In Bhopal, Christians celebrated Palm Sunday with religious fervour. Archbishop Leo Cornelio who celebrated the event at Queen Marys Church at Kolar Road said, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was a symbolic acceptance of his death, and urged worshipers to submit to God's will like Jesus.

The Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week leading up to Easter. It is celebrated to mark the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem when people honoured him by spreading their clothes and waving palm branches.

In the Catholic Church, Lent officially ends on Maundy Thursday the day before Good Friday, and three days prior to Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is when Christians remember the Last Supper and Good Friday is a somber day remembering Jesus' death.

On Good Friday, the faithful will participate in the 'way of the cross' commemorating the sufferings and death of Jesus.

The Holy Week culminates on Easter Sunday, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.