Palm Sunday

It is spring in Finland, or so I am told. My notions of spring are decidedly different: I imagine increased sunlight, cool days, and trees budding. Here, the days are increasing (up to 12.5 hours of sunlight!), but that is where the similarities end. The temperatures have been the coldest of the season and the snow and ice show very little sign of melting. In fact, there are people still walking and skiing on the ice in the harbors. Nevertheless, it is spring and Easter season here.

There are a few unique traditions during Holy Week in Finland. First, instead of passing out palm leaves in church on Palm Sunday, pussy-willow branches are distributed. These are apparently the only budding life forms in Finland at this time of year, though with this weather, it is difficult to imagine that anything has been growing! 

The second tradition is akin to trick-or-treating. On Sunday morning, the children dress up as witches and go door-to-door. They carry with them a basket of handmade willow branches adorned with colorful feathers or streamers. When they ring your door bell, they say a short rhyme:

     "Virvon varvon, tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks, vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!"

This roughly translates to, "I wave a twig for a fresh and healthy year ahead; a twig for you, a treat for me!"

This custom is a blend of the Russian Orthodox ritual in which these willow branches represented the palms laid down when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and the Swedish tradition in which witches drove away evil spirits at Easter. As a side note, the children do not generally dress up and trick-or-treat at Halloween, though I think that this notion is becoming more popular. Wonder if we'll have any witches? Hope so! We have a small supply of chocolate eggs just in case.

The final tradition is that of a nation-wide holiday on Good Friday and Easter Monday. A lot of Finns take advantage of this 4-day weekend to travel: to visit family, to spend time at their summer cottage, or to go to Estonia. This is such a popular time to travel that when we thought of going somewhere, all of the reasonable accommodations were booked. Instead, we will enjoy a long weekend in the city. Hope you have a Happy Easter!