The virvonta or virpominen (meaning the act of refreshment, or of wishing) is performed by

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

children on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

to wish well to the households. In modern times, children dress as witches and knock at neighbours' doors while carrying salix tree branches (

pussy willow Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus ''Salix'' (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others): *Goat willow or goat sallow ('' Salix caprea ...

), often decorated with colourful feathers. If accepted, they pronounce a blessing rhyme and leave a branch as gift, while receiving sweets in return. The Swedish-speaking minority, especially in Ostrobothnia, may instead celebrate the Saturday before Easter. This is not related to Christian tradition but Western european tradition of cattle and harvest magic that was practiced in different places.

History

The tradition has various pagan and Christian origins: Nordic spring traditions to dispel bad spirits and wish a good harvest season, as well as the Christian ritual of the palms. In Finland, the Orthodox tradition involves children giving blessing with branches distributed at church celebration; the variant with costumes spread from the East as the Finnish Karelians spread in the rest of Finland. A common rhyme is "Virvon varvon tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks, vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!" which translates as "I'm wishing you a fresh, healthy upcoming year, a branch for you, a prize for me!" The chant has been translated in

Juha Vuorinen Juha Tapio Vuorinen (born 31 March 1967) is a Finnish writer, columnist and radio personality. He is best known for his five-volume book series ''The Hangover Diaries'', particularly the first volume ''Totally Smashed!'' (in Finnish ''Juoppohullun ...

's novel ''Totally Smashed!'' as "Willow switch, I'm the Easter witch! I wish you health and a love that's rich! From me I bring some luck today, for this branch what will you pay?" However, many alternatives are known. In the 21st century, the tradition has been mixed with further examples of Anglo-Saxon

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

and various costumes. It may be more common to see kids dressed as other magical characters such as wizards, cats, bunnies or other animals.{{cite web, url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/palm_sunday_brings_witches_to_the_door/5235679, title=Palm Sunday brings witches to the door, date=31 March 2012

References

Easter traditions Public holidays in Finland Religion in Finland Finnish folklore