Palm Sunday

It's Palm Sunday. A religious holiday. A day to remember and reflect. The teachings of our youth never really leave us, it is just that sometimes we put them in a corner. They are our core values. These lessons learned and repeated can become mundane if we allow that to happen. We all make excuses, I'm the leader of the pack in that department, for why we fail to uphold our traditions. Too busy, the Church has changed, and a host of others.
As a child and a young adult I regularly attended the Episcopal church. I was a member of the choir and served as an altar boy. I actively participated in the preparation for all the church holidays. For Palm Sunday,the main chore being the preparation of the palms. I remember them coming in long brown boxes. When I was little I thought they came all the way from Jerusalem ! Later I discovered they came from Florida. We took them out to the kitchen in the meeting hall. Opening the boxes the fronds were inside. We were told to watch out for insects but I don't remember ever seeing any. The fronds were lifted out and we began separating them into the thin strips. Once they were all separated they were placed in woven baskets.
The fronds were blessed and handed out to everyone entering the church on Palm Sunday.
Every Palm Sunday we heard the story of Jesus entering the city. How the palm fronds were thrown on the road to keep the dust down and cushion the ride. He was riding a donkey we were told. The fronds were a sign of the Love for Jesus. Afterwards we all took those fronds home. Sometimes we would join two together to form the sign of the cross. They would always be placed somewhere in the home and saved. If memory serves, our fronds were usually stuck behind a picture hanging on the wall. I can't say I remember when, but at some point they were discarded.
The grandchildren bring home palms. I still have one from last year. It is a comfort to know the church still does that. They don't go the Episcopal church but he is the same God. Living in a northern climate it is about the only time we see palm fronds. Showed the kids some when we took a trip to Florida but I don't think they made the connection. I know I didn't when I was their age. Like I said,being from a northern climate we rarely saw a palm frond and thought they were quite an exotic thing from Biblical times.
A lot of memories come back when I see the palm fronds coming home from church. It was an exciting chore to help with those. Refreshments were always served by the ladies after the job was done. On the big day,when the palms were handed out,you felt like you had helped cushion the way as well.