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Do you want to make your Palm from Palm Sunday into a cross and wonder how to do it? You can watch this video and download this instruction sheet to master one type of Palm Cross: You can scroll down to view the video.
Palm Sunday. It’s a jubilant day that we mark by enthusiastically raising our palms -
remembering Jesus’ triumphant return to Jerusalem. Back in Jesus’ day, waving a palm was seen as an act of homage, usually reserved for rulers. When the Hebrews did this, they were acknowledging that Jesus was a king. Today we wave them to commemorate this event and reaffirm that he is indeed our King.
But after Mass is over, many are stumped as to what to do with their palms. Somehow throwing them away in the trash doesn’t seem appropriate for an article that has been blessed and is a symbol of Jesus’ life.
Sister Cecilia Schmitt, author of Palm Weaving: The Story and the Art, had a solution and believed that reviving the art of palm weaving was the answer. She wrote, “When a child hangs a blessed palm piece in his/her bedroom and mounts a palm piece near the crucifix in the living room, he/she will probably feel more secure and blessed. Reverence for this Sacramental can bring peace and blessings into the home.”
The nun described how the tradition of palm braiding went back centuries and spread from tropical countries to Italy where visitors to Rome took it back to their own countries. The Poles would weave their palms with pussy willows into “bazki”. They would then wear them on their lapels during Holy Week chanting, “The Great Day is but a week away. After six nights comes Wielkanoc or Great Night (Easter).” The Swedes wove their palms into tiny art pieces.
Eventually palm weaving found its way to America with the arrival of European settlers. “Pioneer families considered the palm to be a Sacramental,” she said. “It was holy and brought down the blessings of God on their home.” She described how on Palm Sunday children would not go outside to play until they had finished braiding their palm piece and placing it near their crucifix. Farmers placed their palm pieces on the corners of their fields and their wives would place them at the end of a row in their gardens. Any leftover pieces of the palm would not be thrown away but rather burned as an act of reverence.
As time passed, the custom of palm braiding began dying out when the first generation of immigrants passed on. Catholic nuns and priests kept the tradition alive by teaching it in the classroom. Sister Cecilia tells us that while pioneer families only had three or four patterns of palm weaving, the nuns developed hundreds of new ones.
Sister Cecilia believed there is a desire to bring back this tradition. “Parents and teachers are looking for ways to bring families together for this group activity. Others have found this activity to be an enjoyable way to bring sacred objects into the home.” She described how pioneer families would huddle around the table braiding palms recalling the story of Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem. “The blessed palm keeps one’s attention on the presence of God.”
“Finally,” she concluded, “palm braiding can bring excitement and devotion to the congregations in churches which are decorated with blessed palm decorations. It is a fitting opening for Holy Week to attend church services with beautifully crafted palm bouquets, displays, or hangings to remind the worshiper that, though Jesus did suffer and die, he is truly a triumphant king.”
Edited by Nuri Vallbona from
Excerpts from: Palm Weaving: The Story and the Art by Sister Cecilia Schmitt, OSF
How to fold a palm into a cross from St. Catherine of Siena Church on Vimeo.
