Editing Willow (section)

==Culture==
The willow is one of the [[four species]] associated with the Jewish festival of [[Sukkot]], or the Feast of Tabernacles, cited in Leviticus 23:40. Willow branches are used during the synagogue service on [[Hoshana Rabbah]], the seventh day of Sukkot.

In [[Buddhism]], a willow branch is one of the chief attributes of [[Guanyin]], the ''[[bodhisattva]]'' of compassion.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} In traditional pictures of Guanyin, she is often shown seated on a rock with a willow branch in a vase of water at her side.

Orthodox churches often use willow branches in place of palms in the ceremonies on [[Palm Sunday]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.churchyear.net/palmsunday.html |title=ChurchYear.net |publisher=ChurchYear.net |access-date=2011-12-18}}</ref>

In China, some people carry willow branches with them on the day of their Tomb Sweeping or [[Qingming Festival]]. Willow branches are also put up on gates and/or front doors, which they believe help ward off the evil spirits that wander on Qingming. Legend states that on Qingming Festival, the ruler of the underworld allows the spirits of the dead to return to earth. Since their presence may not always be welcome, willow branches keep them away.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Social Life of the Chinese|last=Doolittle|first=Justus|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7103-0753-8|orig-year=1876}}</ref> [[Taoism|Taoist]] [[witch]]es use a small carving made from willow wood for communicating with the spirits of the dead. The image is sent to the nether world, where the disembodied spirit is deemed to enter it, and give the desired information to surviving relatives on its return.<ref name=Dore>{{Cite book|title=Researches into Chinese Superstitions|last1=Doré |first1=Henri |translator-last=Kennelly  |translator-first1=M.|year=1914|publisher=Tusewei Press, Shanghai |volume=I |page=2}}</ref> The willow is a famous subject in many East Asian nations' cultures, particularly in pen and ink paintings from China and Japan.

A ''[[gisaeng]]'' (Korean [[courtesan]]) named Hongrang, who lived in the middle of the [[Joseon Dynasty]], wrote the poem "By the willow in the rain in the evening", which she gave to her parting lover (Choi Gyeong-chang).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.arirang.co.kr/Tv/TSymbols_Archive.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0271&view_cont_seq=4&code=St1&sys_lang=Eng|publisher=Arirang TV|title=The Forest of Willows in Our Minds|date=20 August 2007|access-date=10 September 2007|archive-date=14 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014211840/http://arirang.co.kr/Tv/TSymbols_Archive.asp?PROG_CODE=TVCR0271&view_cont_seq=4&code=St1&sys_lang=Eng|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hongrang wrote:

<blockquote>...&nbsp;I will be the willow on your bedside.</blockquote>

In Japanese tradition, the willow is associated with ghosts. It is popularly supposed that a ghost will appear where a willow grows. Willow trees are also quite prevalent in folklore and myths.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.controverscial.com/Willow.htm |title=In Worship of Trees by George Knowles: Willow |access-date=14 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210033640/http://www.controverscial.com/Willow.htm |archive-date=10 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythfolk/willow.html |title=Mythology and Folklore of the Willow |access-date=14 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215235323/http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/forest/mythfolk/willow.html |archive-date=15 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In English folklore, a willow tree is believed to be quite sinister, capable of uprooting itself and [[Talking tree|stalking travellers]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ashton|first1=J. W.|last2=Briggs|first2=K. M.|date=April 1968|title=The Fairies in Tradition and Literature|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/537668|journal=The Journal of American Folklore|volume=81|issue=320|pages=164|doi=10.2307/537668|jstor=537668|issn=0021-8715}}</ref> 

The Viminal Hill, one of the [[Seven Hills of Rome]], derives its name from the Latin word for osier, ''viminia'' (pl.).

[[Hans Christian Andersen]] wrote a story called "Under the Willow Tree" (1853) in which children ask questions of a tree they call "willow-father", paired with another entity called "[[Elder Mother|elder-mother]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hca.gilead.org.il/under_wi.html |title=Under The Willow Tree |publisher=Hca.gilead.org.il |date=13 December 2007 |access-date=2011-12-18}}</ref>

"Green Willow" is a [[Kaidan (parapsychology)|Japanese ghost story]] in which a young samurai falls in love with a woman called Green Willow who has a close spiritual connection with a willow tree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiritoftrees.org/green-willow |title=Green Willow |publisher=Spiritoftrees.org |access-date=2011-12-18}}</ref> "The Willow Wife" is another, not dissimilar tale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://live-artist.com/fairytales/willow.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518073112/http://live-artist.com/fairytales/willow.html|url-status=dead|title=The Willow Wife|archive-date=18 May 2008}}</ref> "Wisdom of the Willow Tree" is an [[Osage Nation]] story in which a young man seeks answers from a willow tree, addressing the tree in conversation as 'Grandfather'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tweedsblues.net/theparables/osage.html |title=Wisdom of the Willow Tree |publisher=Tweedsblues.net |access-date=2011-12-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929080553/http://tweedsblues.net/theparables/osage.html |archive-date=29 September 2011}}</ref>