Blessing of the Fleet
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The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradition that began centuries ago in Mediterranean fishing communities. The practice began predominantly Catholic, but is now practiced by all Christians as a blessing
Blessing of the Fleet procession, Port Adelaide, South Australia, 2015
Palm Sunday
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Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gos
Blessing of the Fleet
…to begin the Spring shrimping season. The celebration in Jacksonville, Florida is a simple ceremony that was first held in 1985. While it is held on Palm Sunday, and an Orthodox priest does the blessings, it is a fun, festive boat parade. Some of the participants go overboard with their decorations. Typically…
Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem (1320) by Pietro Lorenzetti: entering the city on a donkey symbolizes arrival in peace rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse.
Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Russian icon (Cathedral of the Annunciation, Moscow)
"Flevit super illam" (He wept over it); by Enrique Simonet, 1892
Churches may distribute Christian crosses woven from blessed palms on Palm Sunday, or Christians may make palm crosses out of the palms that are distributed during Palm Sunday Mass.