Palm Sunday (01/04/2012) marks the official beginning of Poland’s Easter festivities – perhaps the country’s most sacred holiday. Leading up to the season you may see decorative handmade palms for sale around town. These traditional decorations are made from a variety of dried flowers and plants and are crafted in villages all over Poland. Palms are taken to church on Palm Sunday to be blessed before they will decorate homes until the end of the season. As a deeply Catholic country, Poland takes its Easter celebrations seriously; throughout the period, the visiting foreigner can expect bars and restaurants to be either empty or closed beginning on Good Friday (06/04/2012) . A traditional day of abstinence, dutifully observing Catholics visit church to attend stations of the cross – a series of prayers following Jesus Christ’s route to his crucifixion.