Sunday, 10 April 2022

Palm Sunday

Pope Francis with a decorative bouquet of palms during Palm Sunday

Three plants dominate this Sunday. Most popular among them are palms, which unfortunately are not common in all countries. In Malta for example, we use olive branches. On the other hand, the Greek Orthodox community use pussy-willow when they celebrate their Palm Sunday and Easter celebrations. Palms are from the Arecaceae family of perennial flowering plants with around 2,600 species known, most of which are restricted to tropical and sub-tropical climates.

The olive, botanical name Olea europaea, meaning 'European olive', is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin.  Olive trees produce and abundance of olives and they are especially popular in Greece and Italy, as well as Malta.

Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus Salix (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. Ruthenian, Polish, Romanian, Czech, Slovak, Bavarian, and Austrian Roman Catholics; Finnish and Baltic Lutherans and Orthodox; and various other Eastern European peoples carry pussy willows on Palm Sunday instead of palm branches.  

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