What is “Palmpasen” in the Netherlands?

Palmpasen is the Dutch Palm Sunday: the start of Goede Week leading up to Easter. Dutch primary schools and churches build a unique craft tradition around the day: kids assemble a Palmpaasstok, a wooden cross decorated with palm boxwood, ribbons, raisins, candy, eggs, and crowned with a small homemade bread rooster (broodhaantje). The rooster recalls the Gospel story of Peter’s denial. Kids parade their palmpaasstokken through the village, often delivering them afterward to elderly residents or hospital patients. The tradition is more secular than churched-up at this point, but the craft itself is centuries old.

In this clip, a Dutch kid explains: “Het is vandaag Palmpasen, het begin van een belangrijke week voor christenen. Ik heb hier een Palmpaasstok met snoepjes, rozijntjes en een broodje.”