[ANON POST] Precise Form of Palm Branches in US Catholic Churches in the 1960s?
On Palm Sunday in various churches, "palms" are distributed to the congregation during the service. In most parts of the world these aren't actually palm branches, but various other branches or leaves, sometimes already formed into the shape of a cross, sometimes not. What precisely is used is extremely dependent on the time and place, and in the US it also seems to be dependent on the cultural background (Irish American, German American, or whatever) so I'm having trouble figuring out what to use in my fic, even after googling a lot about "palm branches US Catholic 1960s" and the like. Also, people often take what was handed to them during Mass and weave it into a cross themselves, so I when I look at images, I don't know if the thing they're carrying is the same thing they were handed, or not.
I've also looked at the websites of US-based Catholic church supply shops, but then I see all the possibilities, not the most probable ones. Also, I think tradition may have changed between the 1960s and now (it has in my country).
So the question is: If a person went to Catholic Mass on Palm Sunday in New York in the 1960s (general Catholic tradition or maybe Italian American Catholic) and took the "palm branch" that was handed to him and brought it home without changing it in any way, what would it most likely have been? A green leafy thing or palm frond? Fresh and green or dried and brown? Already woven into a cross or not? A branch from some completely different plant?
I've also looked at the websites of US-based Catholic church supply shops, but then I see all the possibilities, not the most probable ones. Also, I think tradition may have changed between the 1960s and now (it has in my country).
So the question is: If a person went to Catholic Mass on Palm Sunday in New York in the 1960s (general Catholic tradition or maybe Italian American Catholic) and took the "palm branch" that was handed to him and brought it home without changing it in any way, what would it most likely have been? A green leafy thing or palm frond? Fresh and green or dried and brown? Already woven into a cross or not? A branch from some completely different plant?