COIN SET EURO LATVIA PUZURIS (PUZZLE SET)

Puzuris is an ancient Latvian winter solstice decoration that represents the world in a visually tangible yet symbolic way. Puzuris is also known as ķisti, spurguli, krīgi, and by other regional names. It is hung from the ceiling so that it can move with even the slightest breeze. The deeper meaning of the movement of the puzuris is that the winter solstice marks the moment when the sun must turn toward spring, be reborn, and regain the strength of its upward motion. In order to move freely, the puzuris is made of lightweight materials and suspended on a thin thread.

Puzuris were also used to decorate wedding and baptism rooms. Several small puzuris were often hung from a main puzuris. At weddings, they served as a symbol promoting fertility and harmony for the young couple, while at baptisms, they were decorations whose graceful movements were believed to promote the health and well-being of the newborn.

Traditionally, there were two main types of puzuris. The first was a polyhedron made of straw or reeds—a geometric representation of the world. The second was a round turnip suspended on a thread, inside which rye straw was placed, imitating a hedgehog curled into a ball. Christmas is the time when the sun awakens in the form of a hedgehog and begins its journey of awakening. Such a puzuris was also considered a powerful protector against evil and danger.