I've got a dream when the darkness is over, we'll be lyin' in the rays of the sun

I did not realize the Hill of Crosses existed in SL.


(Creative Commons license reserved to photographer Diego Delso. All rights reserved.)

The Hill of Crosses, or Kryžių kalnas, beyond the screen is in Šiauliai, wbich is in the upper part of Lithuania. No one seems to know for sure when it began to sprout crosses in profusion, but most sources agree it began sometime in the first few decades of the 1800s, after a few wars wherein the dead were buried where they fell, and not back home with their loved ones. Having no bodies to commemorate, they went to the hill and memorialized them there.

And the Lithuanian government was initally not pleased--especially during Soviet-occupied years. To the point, in fact, that the Soviet army bulldozed the hill, the site of the old Domantai Fort, three times--once in the 1940s, I believe, again in 1963, and once more in 1973.


(Creative Commons license reserved to photographer B. Villaiba, who snapped this image in 2016. All rights reserved.)

The people were undeterred. They raised the stakes--quite literally staking crosses deep into the hill, but also carting in statues of Jesus and the Virgin, hanging rosaries, holy medals, blessed scapulars and heavy crucifixes atop the crosses, the trees, the statues. It became as much an act of defiance, as it was worship.

And, as the Soviets discovered, nothing worked. The crosses kept coming back. And now, in these latter days, it has become a major Catholic pilgrimage site for eastern Europe, and there's more crosses and religious iconography than ever.


(Creative Commons license reserved to photographer Diego Delso. All rights reserved.)

There are many religious pilgrimages where the journey is the reward, or the power or peace of the place once it's reached. For Kryžių kalnas, any pilgrimage that ends there honors human will, as well as holy devotion. With its history, it is impossible to disconnect the two, and maybe that's as it should be. As Lithuania has survived terrible tragedies, so has this hill, the heart and soul of the faithful. It stands as a dual tribute to both: endurance and worship, defiance and deeply held beliefs. There's a power in that all its own.

In the meantime, worried about easy foods to eat, and make, prior to getting sick, or while sick? Honestly, this would've been better information a week back, before the stores were gutted by hoarders, but...At any rate, this is a surprisingly good list. It contains a few dishes that are nearly impossible to overcook, recommends flavor combinations, and two pretty stable, easy to store desserts--plus a fairly simple chicken soup. Nice.