Belarusian rite Gukanne Vyasny

According to the tradition, women made cookies in the form of birds, called “buski” or “buskovy lapy” to celebrate the Belarusian bird busel (stork). They also cooked rolls “zhavoronki” (skylarks) that resembled the songbird.

Children used to make birds from straw, cloth and paper. The colorful handicrafts decorated with ribbons were placed on trees as high up as kids could reach: people believed that the birds returning from wintering areas will replace their paper copies bringing spring on their wings.