Palm Sunday Tradition

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. All over the world Catholics attended Mass where palm fronds were blessed and then taken home to be put in a prominent place. In other places (such as here, in Galicia), a small olive branch is taken to Mass. Some people cut off such a large branch it looks like they're taking a small tree to be blessed. (My mother-in-law has sometimes done that; then distributed smaller branches among sons who didn't go to church.) Then, there are white palm fronds that have been on sale for the past week in florists' shops. Some of those are fashioned by hand into different forms. They come from Elche, where the palm trees grow, and where the braiding of elaborate palm fronds into beautiful sculptures is well-known throughout Spain.

The origin of the tradition is officially around the year 1371, but ancient Iberian pottery found near Elche already had braided palm fronds depicted on it. The palm fronds are treated so that, as they grow, light doesn't reach them, and the fronds remain yellowish. Once they're cut, they're treated to make them paler, and selected according to quality and length. Then the women of the different families that follow the tradition go to work. From the end of autumn to the day before Palm Sunday, they braid the fronds into amazing works of art. The tradition is to send braided palms to the King and Queen of Spain, and to the Pope. They are also sent to different parts of Spain, where prices vary according to elaborateness. If you want, you can spend up to around three thousand euros for an elaborately braided palm sculpture. Some of these are spectacular, and make you wonder about the hands that created them.

So, if you visit Spain, and your trip coincides with Palm Sunday, a nice souvenir would be a small handmade braided palm sculpture. It's an artisanal tradition that has lasted since shadowy times. And absolutely beautiful.