Skillful hands tie seven plants into a palm bush

In the past, palm bush binding was men’s work. This craft was passed down from father to son. Over time it became the farmer’s wife’s business. Farmer Hedwig Lindorfer recently came to the Hansbergland senior day care “AltNa(h)Und” in St. Johann to tie palm bushes with the women. They spend time together there. They are looked after by Arcus employee Anita Leibetseder, who always receives support from volunteers like Hedwig Lindorfer on this day. The elementary school students also helped out and were allowed to make their very own bushes. “The palm bush is very popular with young people again,” says Lindorfer. However, it is only considered a guarantee of luck and blessing if it has been worn to the consecration of the palm on Sunday.

“In our Upper Mühlviertel, the palm bushes are made from seven plants, all of which used to have a strong connection to folk beliefs and folk medicine,” explains the farmer’s wife. Traditionally, the branches are cut on Ash Wednesday and placed in water. So they should quickly turn green with the spring sun. By the way, carrying the palm bush used to be the responsibility of the boys. The aim was often to reflect the size of the farm in the length of the palm bushes.

When it comes to blessing power, the handy variants of the Häuslleut are no less helpful. Back home, the palm bush was carried around the house three times. This was called “fencing in the chickens” to protect them from foxes and hawks.

Seven plants with meaning

But what’s in the bush? Anna Kapfer, one of the hard-working seniors, has known this since she was a girl: the boxwood is a must and a symbol of life. The ivy or “winter grea” is the second component as a symbol of eternity and loyalty. The hazel is a symbol of wisdom and fertility and supports the entire bush. The larch – called the teaching tree in the Mühlviertel – is a sacred tree, a protective tree. The catkins, also called sage willow, are the sign of resurrection and new beginnings. The juniper, better known as the blessing tree, is the vivifier – a tree of life. The dry oak leaves represent the ephemeral and must also be part of the scene.

The palm bush is tied together with the willow rod that has been soaked in water – the osier is a symbol of irrepressible life force – and is peeled off and split in the middle, because nails or wire have no place in a traditional bush. Nowadays, a little green band is allowed. It used to be considered a point of honor that everything was held together by a strip of bark. Splitting the rods with a knife and fingernail requires a lot of skill.

However, the meaning of the ribbon colors is increasingly being forgotten, and different colorful ribbons are used: green ribbons symbolize the joy of the resurrection, red ribbons symbolize the blood death of Christ, and the white ribbons represent the innocence of Christ.

A palm bush “works”

The palm bush consecrated in the church is placed in different places with different wishes and requests. For example, he is supposed to protect the harvest in the field. Under the roof it protects the farmers and hopefully also the “housers” from storms and fire. In the stable it ward off illnesses, and in the Lord’s Corner it is placed to honor God. Parts of it were even eaten in earlier days: three palm cats swallowed were supposed to protect against a sore throat.

Leftovers have to go into the fire

If after a year there were still remnants of the old palm bushes, these branches were not simply thrown away, but found an honorable use: They were thrown into the fire with which the “holy meat” was cooked at Easter.

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