This Christian observance falls on the Sunday before Easter and is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday marks the day when Christ rode into Jerusalem a week before his death and resurrection and was greeted by its people, who strewed cloaks and tree branches along his path to honor him as their king. This event is known as the Triumphal Entry.
Nowadays, Palm Sunday service often includes the blessing of palm leaves (or substitute branches from yews, willows, or other plants) before a procession into or in the church, after which hymns are sung and readings that focus on Christ’s final week are given. In many Christian denominations, palm fronds are burned at the end of the service; the ashes are saved for use on the next Ash Wednesday.
Palm Sunday is also called Passion, Branch, Yew, Willow, Blossom, or Fig Sunday, as well as Flower Day and several other names.
Question of the Day
What is a sous-chef? I hear the term regularly on cooking shows.
Sous is the French word for under, beneath, below. “Chef” is also French, meaning chief, head, commander; the term is defined in the United States as “head cook.” Sous-chef means deputy head or deputy commander, but we use it exclusively as the title given an assistant to a restaurant or hotel chef.
Advice of the Day
It is bad luck to step in a cloud reflected in a puddle.
Home Hint of the Day
Avoid adding plywood or pressure-treated wood to your burn pile. The fumes from these materials can be toxic.
Word of the Day
Dominical letter
A letter from A to G, denoting Sundays in the ecclesiastical calendar for a given year, determined by the date on which the first Sunday falls. If it falls on January 1, the letter (for the year) is A; if it falls on January 2, the letter is B; and so on.
Puzzle of the Day
How much is a skunk worth?
One scent.
Born
Hans Christian Andersen(author)–
Erastus Brigham Bigelow(industrialist, inventor, a founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology)–
Buddy Ebsen(actor)–
Charles Honi" Coles"(tap dancer)–
Sir Alec Guinness(actor)–
Emmylou Harris(country music singer)–
Christopher Meloni(actor)–
Clark Gregg(actor)–
Died
Samuel Morse(inventor)–
C. S. Forester(author)–
Pope John Paul II–
Jane Henson(co-creator of The Muppets)–
Events
Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida and claimed it for the King of Spain–
U.S. Mint established–
American Farmer journal founded–
Bread riot occurred in Richmond, Virginia–
7.9 earthquake triggered tsunami, Hawaii–
Charles Martin Hall patented an inexpensive way to make aluminum–
As the World Turns debuted on television–
199.5+ mph wind gust recorded at Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire
–
Dallas made its television debut–
Weather
Wind gusted to at least 199.5 miles per hour at Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire–
A severe storm blasted the northeastern United States for three days. Winds reached 140 miles per hour on top of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, and Maine received two to three feet of snow–
9.4 inches of snow closed Chicago’s O’Hare airport–
Twisters tore through the Midwest and South, killing 18 people–
A rare 0.1” snowfall occurred in Charlotte, North Carolina–
