Palm Sunday or Domingo de Ramos, as it is known in Mexico starts off the important Easter celebrations that will go on throughout the week and culminate around Good Friday (Viernes Santo) and Easter Sunday (Domingo de Pascua).

Palm Sunday commemorates the day that Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey to be greeted by palms covering his path and followers waving palm leaves triumphantly in his wake.

With nearly 83% of Mexican’s population being Catholic, it is not surprising that Palm Sunday is an important affair. Around the Church of San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist) in the zocalo of Coyoacán, a beautiful neighbourhood in the South of Mexico City, the square was packed with worshippers queuing to enter the church. They were singing joyous songs of celebration and waving their palms and then entered the church to be blessed. Meanwhile, skilled crafts people were selling palms in all shapes and sizes to the crowd.

Easter Week, called Semana Santa here, is one of the most interesting, important and widely celebrated festivals in Mexico and if you are lucky enough to visit at this time, you are in for a treat.

 

 

Susannah Rigg is a freelance writer and Mexico specialist. Her work has been featured in BBC Travel, CNN Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, AFAR and The Independent among others . Check out her portfolio here. Contact Susannah by email, info [at] mexicoretold [dot] com and join her on Instagram and Twitter.