Standing out in the cold at the corner of Fullerton and North Menard avenues on Palm Sunday morning, March 24, Luis and Aljandra Retama wove fresh palms into elaborate designs for sale to those entering St. James Church for Mass.

For 15 years the couple has been making palms for sale at churches. They also purchase palms woven into intricate crucifixes from family in their native Mexico and sell those to churchgoers for between $5 and $10.

“They work the whole year to sell them today,” Luis said of their family in Mexico.

For the crucifixes, the weavers in Toluca, Mexico, boil the palms in a solution to make them soft and to “keep them from turning dark,” Luis said. They then weave them into the detailed designs.

Palm Sunday comes from the tradition of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey and people laying palms down in his path. Many local ethnic parishes include processions into the church on this day, to reenact this moment.

Aljandra learned to weave palms in Mexico where she watched the Indian men doing it. She said their hands moved quickly, like magic, and she wanted to learn to do what they did. Later on she taught her husband how to weave.

“I feel proud when the people see me working with the palms,” Luis said, adding that many people ask him how he does it.

“Not everybody can do this,” he said.

The couple sells about 600 pieces throughout the weekend. The large palms, which sell for $20 and up, are made from an entire palm stalk comprised of dozens of individual palms and take about 30 to 45 minutes to make. The couple weaves those on site.