Here’s another Holy Week activity – Lenten activity #37 – that gives catechists the opportunity to introduce children to the popular custom of palm weaving & braiding.
Palm Weaving & Braiding
- Palms are sacramentals – “sacred signs instituted by the Church” (CCC 1667). They represent our homage and loyalty to Christ the King, who was hailed as king as he entered Jerusalem to the waving of palm branches.
- Catholics have long displayed palms in their homes after Palm Sunday as a sign that Christ is the King of our homes. One of the ways that Catholics of many cultures (especially Italian, Polish, and Philippino) have shown reverence for palms is by weaving and braiding them.
- On his Web site – Italiansrus.com - Anthony Parente shares his family’s customs of braiding and weaving palms. Not only does he provide background on the tradition of palm weaving, but then he also provides palm weaving tutorials for creating some wonderful designs such as braids, cones, crosses, crowns of thorns, and rose buds!
- Depending on the degree of difficulty (which Anthony indicates for each), you may be able to help your students complete some of these creations!
- Thanks, Anthony, for sharing this wonderful tradition!
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Maura Sweeney 03.31.09 at 4:15 pm
Joe
This is way cool. Thank you and Anthonly for sharing. We’ve belonged to two italian parishes and always wanted to know felow parishioners seemed to so easily transform their palms into crosses and intricate braids. I’ll be trying out the crown of thorns this weekend.
Peace
Maura
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Joe Reply:
March 31st, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Maura, that crown of thorns is awesome, isn’t it?
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