Priest blessing the Easter palms before the Mass ceremony.
It is customary to begin Palm Sunday services with a procession, in which a palm-carrying congregation circles the parish church three times.
In the past, Palm Sunday was also called Floral Sunday because bouquets of wildflowers, willow catkins or raspberry branches were used instead of palms.
It was also believed that a palm blessed at a mass has special properties; for example, it can prevent disease.