We’d all like to have palms like the ones they have in Rome, wouldn’t we?
Well, this is why God made YouTube.
Below are some tutorials that can turn your strands and leaves into nifty mementos that you will want to treasure all year. Okay: maybe they won’t rival the one the pope carries — good luck with that — but they will look better than the folded ribbons people tuck behind pictures and dresser mirrors.
If that’s not enough, here’s some advice on the best ways to display your Palm Sunday handiwork:
1. Tuck it behind a crucifix or a piece of religious art.
While these items hanging on your wall already remind you of our Faith, adding a palm can serve two additional purposes. One, it will make the wall look different and draw your eyes to it, leading you to gaze upon the cross or an image that resonates with you more often. Two, the presence of greenery reminds us that our faith is something that is alive—it’s not something limited to the days of the Bible or to the time of a conversion. God is always at work in our lives and in our hearts.
2. Add it to your Easter centerpiece.
I love the idea of keeping home décor simple and minimal during Lent and then pulling out all of the stops for Easter Sunday: painted eggs, spring colors, and of course, plenty of fresh flowers. A palm or two would make a meaningful and beautiful accent to a vase filled with lilies, tulips, or whatever flowers you choose to arrange for your joyful Easter table. Once you’re no longer using the centerpiece, be sure to carefully dry the palm and then choose one of the other options for displaying it.
3. Place it in your Bible.
A palm folded in half serves as a perfect bookmark for a page in your Bible that you want to refer back to again and again throughout the year. Not sure where to put it? You can’t go wrong with the Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55), the Sermon the Mount (Matthew 5), or Jesus’ Passion (John 18-19), to name a few.
Check ’em out. And good luck!
