Traditional Arts & Crafts
Kaziuko fair is a large open-air market where people sell a great many traditional things. The most popular purchase is Easter palms, known as “Verbos” in Lithuanian. They are made of colorful dried wild flowers and herbs which are tied around a wooden stick. Making Easter palms is a very difficult and time consuming process. Easter palms are taken to churches on Palm Sunday, a holiday which happens before Easter. Other traditional purchases are foodstuffs which include heart shaped cookies called “Kaziuko Širdis” (Heart of Kaziukas). They are decorated by loving words, names and special symbols. Also, most visitors buy a necklace of round cookies (bubliks/barankas/Kaziuko baronkos). Kaziuko baronkos are made of flour, baking powder, sugar, butter and water. They symbolize the cycle of seasons in the year.
Verba
Verba (Easter palm) is a major feature in Kaziuko muge. You can glimpse the beauty of these everywhere in Kaziuko muge. It is so common to see that If you have missed it, you probably came on the wrong weekend. The Verba, looks like a palm tree. Except, it is not just spiky and green, it is also highly decorated in multiple, colorful and spectacular patterns. The patterns are formed out of numerous amounts of different materials. These materials consist of dried flowers and herbs, which are then dyed to look like different colors. The process of making a Verba also requires willow branches, the thing that the ornaments are tied around. In the end, the Verba takes a long time to make and needs a good eye in order to choose the right flowers and the dyes.
The making of Verba dates back to the 14th century and is strongly connected to Christian beliefs. The Verba is used during the Sunday before Easter, called Verbu sekmadienis (Palm Sunday). Palm Sunday is a Christian feast in which people celebrate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. During Palm Sunday, people are said to bring palms because on that day, Jesus rode on branches of palm trees. But people in climates where palm trees can’t grow use native trees as substitutes. In Lithuania, people bring Verbas to church and get them blessed. This tradition is said to bring positive harvest outcomes throughout the year. All in all, the Verba is a very important feature of Kaziuko Muge. It is also very important in Christian beliefs.
Metal, Wood and Clay Works
As you walk through the seemingly endless merchant stalls of Kaziuko muge, you can stumble upon various kinds of crafts. The crafts that you may find are often quite different from one another, and some crafts can even be scarce. But one of the most popular and repeating crafts you can find and buy during Kaziuko muge are the works of metal, wood and clay. These vary in sizes, shapes and in nature/purpose. The reason that most of the crafts are made out of metal, wood and clay, is that these three materials make up folk art of Lithuania. For example, wood is a natural resource that every nation uses in order to produce houses, tools, etc. However, in Kaziuko muge, wood carvings and other various uses of wood, are considered art. As a result of this, art is a very important thing in Kaziuko muge. Furthermore, art is something that clearly shows the cultural aspects of Lithuania.
Kaziuko muge is a fair where people celebrate the cultural aspects of Lithuania. People sell different kinds of handmade tools and crafts, which are sometimes surprising to see. For example, even something as brief and trivial as watching someone hammer a design into a coin is an amusing attraction that many people come to gaze at. Overall, during the fair, we can see multiple crafts of metal, wood and clay. Which in sum, make the fair a wonderful and joyous occasion.