For Christians worldwide, Palm Sunday marks Jesus Christ's entrance into Jerusalem, when his followers laid palm branches in his path, prior to his crucifixion. In Russia and other European countries willow branches are used instead of palm fronds, unavailable that far north. In 2015, most Eastern Orthodox Christians (an estimated 225-300 million) celebrated Palm Sunday on April 5.
© Sputnik / Evgeny Epanchintsev / Go to the mediabankBranches of willow on Palm Sunday in the Siberian city of Chita.
Branches of willow on Palm Sunday in the Siberian city of Chita.
© Sputnik / Pavel Lisitsyn / Go to the mediabankA child during the celebration of Palm Sunday in the town of Kalinovo, Russia.
A child during the celebration of Palm Sunday in the town of Kalinovo, Russia.
© AP Photo / Mosa'ab ElshamyA boy waves a palm frond as Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday during a service in the Samaan el-Kharaz Church in Cairo, Egypt.
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© AP Photo / Mosa'ab Elshamy
A boy waves a palm frond as Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday during a service in the Samaan el-Kharaz Church in Cairo, Egypt.
© Sputnik / Sayid Tsarnaev / Go to the mediabankA woman during the Palm Sunday service in Grozny, capital of the Chechen Republic, Russia.
A woman during the Palm Sunday service in Grozny, capital of the Chechen Republic, Russia.
© AP Photo / Ariel SchalitA Coptic woman holds a palm fond in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ during Orthodox Palm Sunday, in Jerusalem.
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© AP Photo / Ariel Schalit
A Coptic woman holds a palm fond in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ during Orthodox Palm Sunday, in Jerusalem.
© Sputnik / Pavel LisitsynRussian Orthodox Christians during the Palm Sunday service in the town of Kalinovo, Russia.
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© Sputnik / Pavel Lisitsyn
Russian Orthodox Christians during the Palm Sunday service in the town of Kalinovo, Russia.
© AP Photo / Mosa'ab ElshamyEgyptian Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday during a service at the Samaan el-Kharaz Church in Cairo, Egypt.
7/12
© AP Photo / Mosa'ab Elshamy
Egyptian Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday during a service at the Samaan el-Kharaz Church in Cairo, Egypt.
© Sputnik / Evgeny Epanchintsev / Go to the mediabankRussian Orthodox Christians holding branches of willow during the Palm Sunday service in the Siberian city of Chita.
Russian Orthodox Christians holding branches of willow during the Palm Sunday service in the Siberian city of Chita.
© AP Photo / Mosa'ab ElshamyEgyptian Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday at the Samaan el-Kharaz Church in the Mokattam district of Cairo, Egypt.
9/12
© AP Photo / Mosa'ab Elshamy
Egyptian Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday at the Samaan el-Kharaz Church in the Mokattam district of Cairo, Egypt.
© Sputnik / Igor Ageenko / Go to the mediabankThe Palm Sunday liturgy in the city of Blagoveschensk, Russian Far East.
The Palm Sunday liturgy in the city of Blagoveschensk, Russian Far East.
© AP Photo / Vadim GhirdaPeople stand by fires they lit by a relative's grave in a cemetery during an Orthodox Palm Sunday memorial for the departed in Herasti, southern Romania. In Romania and Moldova, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor, translating Flowers' Sunday.
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© AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda
People stand by fires they lit by a relative's grave in a cemetery during an Orthodox Palm Sunday memorial for the departed in Herasti, southern Romania. In Romania and Moldova, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor, translating Flowers' Sunday.
© AP Photo / Ariel SchalitEthiopian Orthodox Christian women pray at Deir El Sultan outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
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© AP Photo / Ariel Schalit
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian women pray at Deir El Sultan outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.