Palm Sunday
When Jesus rode to Jerusalem people threw palm leaves on the road to cheer him. Later it became a tradition to take palm leaves to church to be blessed there. Palms don’t grow in Finland but we use twigs of pussy willow to symbolize palm leaves.
Children decorate these twigs with e.g. feathers and silk paper roses. In Orthodox churches the twigs are blessed the night before Palm Sunday . On Palm Suday morning children dress up in neat clothes and go to their relatives and godparents to whisk them with the decorated twigs to wish them good luck and health in their lives. The twigs are saved until next Palm Sunday. Traditionally, children didn’t get a reward or a treat for this until on Easter Sunday. This was originally the tradition in Eastern part of Finland.
In Western Finland it was believed that ugly witches fly on their broomsticks on Easter Saturday night. Today these two traditions are mixed and nowadays children dress up as little witches and go from house to house asking for a permission to whisk people with their decorated twigs for good luck. While doing this, they recite a rhyme in which they wish good luck and health for the forthcoming year and ask for a treat for themselves. They are usually treated with chocolate eggs or coins right away, not a week later as was customary before.
The rhyme children recite:
Virvon varvon I whisk you
Tuoreeks, terveeks fresh and healthy
Tulevaks vuodeks. For the forthcoming year
Vitsa sulle, You’ll get the twig
Palkka mulle. I’ll get the treat.
It's interesting the way you celebrate Palm Sunday.
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