Palm Sunday: From symbolism of donkey, to blessings of palm trees- Here's everything you need to know

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Pope Francis presided at the service, read his noon prayer and was driven around the crowd in a popemobile. However, Pope Francis, at the last minute, skipped reading his homily during the Palm Sunday Mass for tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.

The procession of Jesus into Jerusalem is described by the four Gospel writers in the Bible. The Gospels differ, but based on one expert they agree on this: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey — or a colt. Colt is defined as “a young male horse that is usually not castrated." But in the Bible, the word meaning “colt" is used almost exclusively for young donkeys, not horses, writes Joanne M.

Pierce, professor emerita of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross. In the biblical Palm Sunday story, a cheering crowd greeted Jesus along the road. Some spread their garments on the ground; others threw down leafy branches they had cut from the fields.

In the Gospel of John, they are branches from palms, a tree that symbolized victory and triumph. In the Gospel of Matthew, people began to shout: “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" The word “Hosanna" is a plea for salvation and an exclamation of adoration. After the procession, the Bible says Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.

The ritual or liturgy typically starts with a blessing of the palms by clergy. It's followed by a reading of the Passion of Christ, meaning an account of the final events of Jesus' life. Some ceremonies in German-speaking countries used to include a figure of Jesus riding a donkey, Encyclopedia Britannica says.