The harmonious chanting of "Hosannah" filled the entire Christian-dominated Kangpokpi town early Sunday as the Christian community observed 'Palm Sunday', commemorating the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, Willow Sunday, and Flower Sunday, commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem with palm branches placed in his path. It is also an occasion that reflects the final week of Jesus Christ's life and it thus marks the beginning of the Holy Week, or the week leading up to Easter Sunday. It is a time for Christians to remember the agony of Christ and the joy of His resurrection.
Palm Sunday was celebrated across Kangpokpi district with gaiety and cheer. Special Church services were held in all the churches in Kangpokpi town and Palm Sunday processions were taken out along the National Highway 2.
In the joyful and colourful procession, men and women, young and old, and even children held tree branches and shouted, "Hosannah, Hosannah, Hosannah, to the son of David", "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" and "Hosannah in the highest heaven".
The Palm Sunday procession was prohibited for the past two years due to the pandemic in the town.
The exuberant Palm Sunday procession along the National Highway-2 was joined by the Kangpokpi Christian Church, Kangpokpi Nepali Hindi Church, Christian Revival Church, Kuki Baptist Convention, Centre Church Kangpokpi, St Thomas Believer's Eastern Church, Kangpokpi and KCBC Kholmun among others.
Elaborating on some of the significant days of the Holy Week or Passion Week, one of the pastors, participating in the Palm Sunday procession, said that Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, historically the most sacred time of the year for Christians, and it is a reminder of the welcoming of Jesus into our hearts and of our willingness to follow him.
Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday is a day when Christians commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus. In some traditions, there is the washing of the feet of various members of the community to recall a gesture of Christ at the Last Supper when he washed the feet of his disciples, he said and added that this is a sign of the need to do more to love one another and to serve all people, especially the poor.
He then spoke about Good Friday as a day that marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. He added that it is a solemn day on which Christians recall the death of Jesus and its promise of hope and new life.
He continued that many Christians on Good Friday see the suffering of Jesus as a reminder to be more concerned for the suffering of people in today's world, that for many Christians, Good Friday is also a day of fasting and penance.
Speaking on Easter Sunday, the pastor said that Easter Sunday is the greatest and most festive event in the Christian calendar worldwide. Though our society puts a major emphasis on Christmas, no other day is traditionally as sacred for the Christian community as Easter because it is the day Christians commemorate the resurrection of Christ, he added.
It is against the darkness of Holy Week that Easter Day is especially bright and the black veil of the cross is lifted, and Christians celebrate with hymns such as “Lift High the Cross,” he added.
