PALMS, LITURGICAL USE OF

A liturgical palm is a branch of the palm tree, in Greek φοίνιξ, in Latin, dactylifera, or date-bearing palm. The palm tree was considered in Biblical times as a princely tree and was used as a symbol of victory and well-being and also as temple decoration. Because of the tree's height and graceful trunk, with its crown of serrated branches and shade-providing leaves, it served as a shelter and provided food in desert borderlands and was highly prized among Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Jews. The palm tree was considered holy in Babylon and later was sacred to the Greek god Apollo at Delos. Several cities were referred to specifically as the Palm City: Thamar (Ez 47.19), Jericho (Dt 34.3), and En–Gedi (Pliny, Hist. nat. 5.17). The palm tree supplied figures and similes for poets (Ps 92.13) and was used as a name for girls (Gn 38.6; 2 Sm 13.1). It provided decor for the ornamentation of temples among the Phoenicians, Assyrians, and Egyptians (1 Kgs 6.29; Ez 40.16, 22).

Among both the Romans and the Jews it was carried in joyful or triumphant processions. In 293 b.c. victorious Roman soldiers bore palm branches when parading in Rome; and the palm was given as a victory emblem at public games. Of earlier date was its usage among the Israelites; people carried palm branches during the Feast of Tabernacles (Lv 23.40; Neh 8.15); and it was part of the bouquet, or lulab, offered on festive occasions as a sign of homage or to celebrate a victory (1 Mc 13.37; Jn 12.13).

Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the people strew palm branches in his path and greeted him with Hosannas (Jn 12.12–13), became a liturgical function on palm sunday in the 4th century. But already in the New Testament the palm was connected with martyrdom (Rv 7.9) and was used to decorate grave markers and tombs in the catacombs as a sign of the triumphal death of the martyr (Paul of Nola, Epist., 32.10). On mosaics and on sarcophagi it usually stands for paradise, and Christ is frequently portrayed amid palms in heaven. So also in ancient church decorations the Lamb of God and the Apostles are depicted amid palms. In the Middle Ages palms served as a symbol of Sunday; and in the Renaissance, under humanist influence, they came to stand for virtues or an augury for a good marriage and length of years.

The palm blessed at Mass on Palm Sunday is carried home by the faithful as a sacramental and symbol of Christ's presence among them. It is usually placed over the bed, entwined on a crucifix, or displayed near some holy picture or statue. Often it is decorated with ribbons or worked into an artistic pattern, such as a cross. In Western countries this has been the custom since at least the 11th century, and both palm and olive tree branches are so employed. Before Ash Wednesday the blessed palm is burned, and its residue is used in the distribution of ashes as a symbol of penance during Lent.

Bibliography: h. i. marrou, Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire, 58 (1941–46) 109–113. j. e. harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (3d ed. Cambridge, Eng. 1922) 78–82.

[f. x. murphy/eds.]