Syracuse Palm Sunday celebration includes jazz band
Posted: 04.01.2012 at 1:25 PM

Central American traditions incorporated in Syracuse's Plymouth Church

A jazz band procession and sidewals covered in flowers, part of the Palm Sunday tradition at Syracuse's Plymouth Church  / Photojournalist Lewis Karpel
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A procession is part of the Palm Sunday tradition in many Christian faiths, but at Syracuse's Plymouth Congregational Church it has a decidedly Central American twist:

The procession (recreating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem) is led by a jazz band, this morning playing 'When the Saints come Marching In.'  And it processes over carpets of flowers and colored sawdust on the sidewalks, called Alfombras.   It's a tradition adopted from Guatemala, brought here because Plymouth is a Sanctuary Church for refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador.