Pūpolsvētdiena

Apaļš kā pūpols, vesels kā rutks, slimības laukā, veselību iekšā!!!

 

A Latvian tradition on Palm Sunday involves the first one awake rousing the rest of the household with a light spanking using pussy willow branches. Remember to bid them “round as a pussy willow, healthy as a turnip, illnesses out, health in!”

 

The belief is that those on the receiving end will be healthy for the next year. Historically, all the animals on the farm would have been “spanked” as well.

 

Pūpolsvētdiena (in Latvian called “pussy willow Sunday”) is the beginning to the last week of Lent, Holy Week. As Latvia is short on palms (which are religiously significant, as upon Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem he was greeted with palm fronds covering the streets), pussy willows took on increased meaning, as they are often the first harbinger of spring.

 

Last year I completely forgot, and truthfully I’m not even sure I could have found pussy willows in France. This year? Oh, I’m ready…

 

Some more things to think about…

 

On Pūpolsvētdienas morning, find the closest stream to rinse your face, as then you will be beautiful and energetic all year. If you can't find a stream, I suggest keeping the tap water as cold as you can get it...

 

Inspect the pussy willow branches, if there are few catkins then there will be few potatoes in the fall, but if there are many, then the beans and peas shall grow in abundance. The branches I bought from a local florist seem somewhere in the middle, so I'll hedge my bets and plant beans, peas and potatoes.

 

On Pūpolsvētdiena clean the ashes from your fireplace and scatter them in the fields which will be planted in vegetables, to guarantee a copious harvest. We do have fireplaces, they just haven't been used in 30 years - maybe I can scrape some ashes from the flue...

 

Do not brush the children’s hair on Pūpolsvētdiena, so they don’t contract lice. Wow.

 

To guarantee a good year, stay home on Pūpolsvētdiena. The weather today is predicted to be cold and rainy, so sure, we'll spend the day indoors, nice and cozy!

For the branches to be most effective, they must be harvested at the break of dawn on Pūpolsvētdiena. Sheesh, I blew this one. But I'm not sure pussy willows grow down south...

Wishing everyone a happy Pūpolsvētdiena, apaļš kā pūpols, vesels kā rutks, slimības laukā, veselību iekšā!!!


For a quick recap of how Latvians celebrate Easter you can visit this post...