Tradition of Pax Cakes

On Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Good Friday), in some parts of England, small cakes are handed out by the vicar to his congregation as they leave church. The cakes are called pax cakes (from the Latin for ‘peace’, pax). The custom goes back to at least the 16th century, when cakes and ale were given out during morning service and eaten and drunk in the church, to promote neighbourliness and good feeling at Easter… Sorry to disappoint, but there will be no ale handed out after Mass.

Palm Sunday also has the nick name ‘Fig Sunday’ because Christ had wanted to eat some when travelling to Jerusalem. Figs were once traditionally eaten on this day.