Together with the waking spring, the whole of Lithuania comes alive on Palm Sunday. On roads and paths, to drive and walk, people gather near churches, carrying staffs in their hands.
Verbs were not the same everywhere in Lithuania. In Žemaitia and Suvalkija, as well as in the vicinity of Kėdainiai, a verba used to be a juniper branch. Meanwhile, in Dzūkija, the base of the willow tree was a willow tree, dogwood or willow tree with “kittens”. The well-known verbs of the Vilnius region are unique, multi-colored, tied from dry flowers and other plants.
Many Lithuanian folk customs are related to verbs. Early on Sunday morning, there was a rush to whip the loved ones who were still in bed. They would beat and say: “I’m not beating, the verb is beating, keep beating until it breaks, Easter will be in a week” and so on.
Willow Sunday is very close, so the employees of the Skriaudius Household Museum of the Prienai Region Museum and the Skriaudius Branch of the Prienai Justina Marcinkevičius Public Library organized an education on tying willows. The number of people interested exceeded all expectations. And it was so good to see the serious, focused faces of the people tying the verbs. During the education, the visitors learned more about the meaning of verbs, what they were used for, what verbs were tied in different regions of Lithuania. All those who participated in the education, both children and adults, succeeded perfectly in tying the verbs. Smiles graced faces when the end result was in front of their eyes.
How much love, creativity, how many good emotions are put into words! On Sunday, they will fulfill their purpose and be consecrated in the church, well, after that they will protect all our homes, waiting for next year, when they will turn to ashes. And then we will gather again, communicate again and tie new verbs again.
Kristina Pažerienė
Curator of the Skriaudius household museum of the Prienai region museum department
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