Palm Sunday

On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem when, in acknowledgement of his Kingship, the people cheered and scattered palm leaves before him.  All the villages on Lake Wolfgangsee have Palm Sunday processions, where home-made “Palmbuschen” are blessed.  This is an old tradition where one end of a hazel stick has a small bunch of twigs tied onto it.  These bunches are made up of twigs from :  Box - Cedar - Catkin - Ivy - Holly - White cedar and Juniper.

The "Palmbusch" - a time-honoured tradition

These Palm Sunday “Palmbuschen” (bunches of twigs) are decorated with apples and colourful ribbons.  As they wait for the blessing of the palm bunches, everyone gathers in front of the church and the youngsters jealously check to see who has the tallest branch!  After church, people go to local guesthouses for the traditional “Palm Sunday meal of sausages”.  In earlier times, by the way, this was just for the men and the boys!