Sunday, April 12, 2009

An Armful of Willows



Today, in the Orthodox Church, is Palm Sunday. All during the past week I've noticed people here in the city and in the countryside, tidying up...planting, cleaning yards, and general outdoor yard work. In the villages, it was traditional to whitewash your home, inside and out, for Easter. But today, one of the holiest days in the year, no one is working. But everyone is outdoors. It's not particularly warm today, but everyone is out (including Bart Simpson) and almost everyone is carrying a few branches of willow, which are used in this part of the world instead of palms. So no thoughts on museums today, just some pictures of Palm Sunday in Kyiv.











3 comments:

Susie Wilkening said...

Isn't the pussy willow custom really cool? I saw them when I was in St. Petersburg on Palm Sunday several years ago.

Anna said...

What is bart simpson doing there?

Linda said...

Yes, Susie, all the willows, many of them carefully assembled into bouquets, were great. And Anna, at Maidan (the main square in Kyiv) there are always people dressed up who charge you to pose with them. At Christmas Santas, almost always the stuffed animals, but this is the first time I've seen Bart!