Yesterday Catholics everywhere celebrated Palm Sunday, announcing the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem. During this joyous mass we receive special blessings as well as blessed palm branches like the ones laid in Christ’s path as we welcome the start of Holy Week. Because these palms are blessed they cannot be disposed of like other foliage we might use to adorn our homes. They can be buried but ideally, we will save them to be burned for next year’s Ash Wednesday ashes. 

As such, I usually prefer to keep track of them by shaping them into small crosses which are then displayed on my bookshelves for the remainder of the year. You can learn how to do this yourself here. The key is to shape your cross before your palms have dried out. This can also be a fun Holy Week craft to share with the kiddos. Though this is a solemn week, I pray everyone can use it as an opportunity to grow in holiness and closeness to Christ as we approach the Easter season.