Palm brings family happiness

In the Greater Poland traditionally willow tree branches were cut. One decorated it with colourful ribbons, papers or wool. Today we buy ready-made palm, said Katarzyna Fertsch.

One can put them on the window during the storms, so it could protect the home from lightening. Make it dry so it can take care of happiness throughout the year. One can also eat it to have good health. Or mix it with grains to ensure good harvest. Nevertheless, first of all one needs to get it consecrated on last Sunday before the festival. The discussion is of course about Easter Palm.

The Sunday Palm consecration is in commemoration of Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem. When he arrived to the city on donkey, the resident of the city threw coats as well as palm branches at his feet. 

They eat palms

-Our Easter Palm symbolizes in fact these branches. However, because of the regional differences, we use other kinds of plants, explains Ewa Ryś of the National Museum of Agricultural and Agro-Food Industry from Szreniaw. -The typical Easter Palm branches were from willow tree. Already on Ash Wednesday one needed to cut it and put it in a vase with water.  This all procedure was in order to keep these branches green until Palm Sunday. Few people later decorated it with ribbons of blotting paper, with colourful flowers, papers, and even with linen and wool. Others added green branches of  boxwood, cowberry, yew, heather or club moss. The most important, however, was the branches of willow tree.

After consecration, few people ate stem. It was believed that it would keep them healthy, added Ryś. Stem of these branches were supposed to cure headache and throat deseases. Nonetheless, when these branches got dry, they were mixed with herbs, which helped in curing. Palms were also framed and were hanged on the wall. It brought luck to habitant of home and guarded the house from fire and misfortune. With thick branches, a cross was made, which was put in the field so it can protect harvest and keep away natural disaster, even from hailstone. Palms also took care of children and cattle so they can rise healthily.

Easier to buy

Today most people buy readymade palms (self-hand-made are still prepared in the villages or on mountains). These most popular, colourful, mysteriously weaved with dried flowers and grass, are Vilnius palms.

-Traditionally, the Greater Poland palms were made till the Second World War. Later, population got mixed up from different region and everyone added some regional element to it, explains Ewa Ryś.

These Vilnius are in a big amount at the shop, where one can buy them. The cheapest, 30cm long palm, costs one zloty. Hence, it is hardly surprising that hand-made palms are already matter of past.

Small but colourful

Making Easter Palm and decorating it is a family business for Andrzej Skrzypec. He brought around 5000 pieces to Poznan and selling it at the Easter fair, which will end on Sunday.

-While choosing palms, people are mostly driven by the price, which is why smaller palms are more popular, said Andrzej Skrzypiec. A few are also paying attention to the colour.

In production of Easter Palm only polish plants, flowers and grasses are used. Sometime it happens that boxwood and fir are added. The biggest palms are in size of 80cm.

Palm ends on the head

For centuries, palms were burned on Easter Saturday and ash were kept until next Ash Wednesday. This year's palm will be served to sprinkle on the head of religious believer next year. Is it same nowadays?

-It is important that the ash is from burned wood. It is writeen that it should be a palm, explains priest Edmund Jaworski from Gułtow. -But it is not compulsion, and it can be also from a thorny tree.