“What’s that flower that they have a lot of in Holland?” an American teenager once asked our daughters. “Dandelions,” was the answer (our daughters were very young). “Or maybe you mean tulips.” The tulips in our front yard are nearly finished. But the dandelions are still going strong.

Tulips require a bit of work. We’ll dig them up once the leaves die down and plant them again, preferably in sandy soil, before the frosts come in the fall. 

Dandelions just show up. They pop up, persistently smiling, from the cracks in crumbling concrete and the banks of otherwise dismal roadsides. They brighten up a dull yard and a dull day. I thank God for these drops of sunshine so freely given. Though, yes,  I do sometimes pull dandelions out of the tulip beds. Tulips are more work . . . .

Palm Sunday in the Netherlands

 

This past Sunday the children in our Dutch church's Sunday school all carried something like this.

Then they put on a song about Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and paraded out of the church, down the street to the "Old Catholic" church. When they paraded into the service there, the priest blessed them (while sprinkling them with water) AND gave them pieces of greenery to represent palms.

They then proceeded to parade around the neighborhood before circling back into our own church. 

Every "Palmpasen stok" (Palm Easter Stick) had these key elements:

• shaped like a cross, to symbolize Jesus' death
• decorated with green or yellow (crepe) paper
• rooster on top to represent Peter denying Jesus 3 times; (traditionally made of bread, to represent the bread Jesus broke during the Last Supper)
• flower decorations as a symbol of spring and of hope
• eggs to symbolize new life and Jesus' resurrection
• heart (in our church) to symbolize Jesus' love for us

Other church traditions make sure to include a piece of greenery (see below) to symbolize the tree branches people waved on that first Palm Sunday. 

Traditionally, the palmpasen stok is given as a gift to someone else, often an elderly community member, after the "parade" is over.

Bakeries sell the little rooster-shaped breads this time of year. Or, if you are ambitious (and either understand Dutch or understand how to use Google translate), you can make some yourself! Rooster from bread recipe.