Today is Palm Sunday or in Filipino, and in my childhood we simply call it Palaspas. This event is very dramatic and well celebrated in our country. Palm Sunday marks the start of the Holy Week. A mass is held as they re enacts the entry of Jesus at Jerusalem. Young coconut leaves are used and made into figures with intricate details and waved as the priest passes by. I have attended several Palm Sunday ceremonies and every year I am still awed by the drama of leaves, hundreds of it, waving as the priest enters.

I can’t help but hum..

Holy Week is a real fascination for me, not only because it is one of the most dramatic and celebrated religious event but also a lot of my childhood (good) memories are with it. Since I grew up in the province, young coconut leaves are very abundant at my grand mother’s house. The Palaspas that were blessed will be used on Ash Wednesday the following year.. you did not know that no..And since my grandmother’s house is just a whisper away from the town’s church, it was understood that we are the supplier of dried up Palaspas every Ash Wednesday. So it is our task to make lots and lots of it, on Saturday afternoon. I really love this activity, I learned the art of making Palaspas at a very young age. My mom can make a grasshopper out of it. I can make ten or even twenty Palaspas with my eyes closed. I really wish I could share this activity to my kids..

My kids shares the same fascination with me, you know Jesus Christ Superstar? Oh well they really enjoyed watching that rock musical. They love the part where people waved Palm leaves to Jesus, and re enact it always. So for them to experience the real deal, we once attended a Palaspas ceremony. They enjoyed it so much! The dried leaves are still with us, hanging on the wall.

I’ll post some pics later..