Latvian Seasonal Holidays

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The annual cycles arrange
themselves in lifetimes, lifetimes twine
with destinies and in
their polyphony one can
feel the course of a
people before eternity.
The traditional Latvian
worldview develops in
dialogue with nature,
God (deities), and other
people. Dialogue is necessary to attune, but additionally, harmonious living is one of our ancestors’ most
fundamental insights – to be in harmony with nature, God, other people, and oneself.
In its revolution around the sun, the earth has, in the course of one year’s time, four
primary points, connected with the changing lengths of day and night. They are
marked with the beginning and end of certain farm work. This rhythm of nature
determines when and how the four most important Latvian holidays are celebrated.
Latvia’s seasonal traditions originated in the
woodlands and countryside and reflect the
values and lifestyle of people who worked
and loved the land. Nevertheless, over the
centuries these traditions have established
themselves in cities as well and have
adapted to the character of city life. As a
result, Latvia’s ancient seasonal traditions not only remain popular
today; they have become an
integral part of contemporary Latvian society.
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EASTER
Lieldienas, “The Great Day”, “Great Days” – these are designations used in
the folk songs for the spring equinox. According to folk tradition Easter has
arrived when the day has become longer than the night for the first time
that year.
On Easter morning people arose before the rising of the sun, and to obtain
health and beauty, they hurried to wash their faces in a spring or a stream
running east. This was followed
by one of the most important
Easter activities – awaiting the
sunrise exactly when it appears
on the equinox morning. In Liv
villages the morning began with
the calling and awakening of
birds so they might protect the
people from evil and sickness.
Those who had risen first,
awoke those who were still
sleeping and switched them with steamed birch branches. In this way a
special force that encouraged fertility and endowed people with health and
success was transferred from the branches. This ritual is connected with
archaic concepts about the staff of life and its fertility enhancing power.
The spring equinox (March 21) is the time when farmers are hurried by endless labors and must keep up with the rapid awakening of nature and the
rhythm of work. But the Latvian preserves a certain independence from this
haste: for instance, one of the most important Easter rituals is hanging of
the swing and swinging. But when swinging at Easter, one must not stop
the swing; it must stop on its own. Only when the swinging is gentle, will
the flax field finish its blooming
without being beaten down by
rain or wind. According to
archaic beliefs, swinging is
connected with fertility, and it
must be done, so the livestock
will do well, as well as the flax,
and one will be spared bites
from mosquitoes and gadflies.
The first to be swung were
usually the master and mistress, after that the rest took
their turns. In return for swinging them, the girls paid the
boys eggs, pies, or even handmade mittens and socks.
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In the past, eggs for different peoples were a symbol of life, and also in
Latvian spring equinox traditions they were given a special place. Awaiting
Easter, eggs were colored with onion skins, rye shoots, chamomile, or hay
cuttings. This is not
such an old custom,
but in our day very popular. Eggs are given
for swinging, and eggs
are knocked together
to see which one
survives cracking, as
according to belief, the
one whose egg shell
was strongest, will live
longer. During Easter,
eggs are rolled and eaten in great quantities,
because in addition to
round flatbreads and
sprouted grains, they
are the primary Easter
foods.
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MIDSUMMER
The summer solstice (June 22) marks a divide in both nature and the work
of the farmer. In nature it is the longest day and the shortest night when in
Latvia the short summer has reached its flowering height. For the farmer
ploughing, sowing, and weeding work is done before Midsummer, but after
Midsummer begins the period when crops are harvested, which starts out
with hay mowing.
All of the herbs and flowers collected at
Midsummer (Jåñi) are known as Jåñiherbs, and the day before Midsummer is
often known as Herb Day. During this
time the collected herbs and roots are
attributed special healing power, which
is useful for healing both people and livestock. Midsummer herbs are plaited in
wreaths and included in bouquets.
Women and girls make wreaths for all celebrants to wear. Women traditionally wear flower wreaths while those worn by men are made of oak
leaves or twigs. Rooms, byres, corrals, wells, mills, and other places important in the farmer’s life are decorated with Midsummer herbs. The livestock
and fences are adorned with wreaths. Birch, oak, and rowan boughs are
used to decorate gates and rooms.
One of the most important Midsummer herbs in Latvia is the mythical
blooming fern, which, according to legend, opens its magic golden flower
only on Midsummer Eve. Midsummer Eve is a magic night when one may
meet Mother Laima (Fortune) herself and Dieviñß walking, see money
drying, and if very lucky – find the blooming fern flower.
For the Midsummer celebration,
the mistress makes cheese, but
the master brews beer. All the
celebrants are treated with
them. With the cheese wheel
and the beer mug come the
blessings of nature and God, but
the songs, dances, and rituals of
the Midsummer “children” in
turn bring blessings to everything and everyone to whom
songs are addressed. The highest point of the year’s turning
has been reached, and each
celebrant participates in the
wedding of the Sky Father and
the Earth Mother.
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The most colorful Midsummer traditions are the lîgotne-songs –
Midsummer folk songs with a characteristic refrain – lîgo, lîgo. Several thousand songs sing about Saule (Sun), the sky son Jånis, the hosts of each
farmstead – “mother” and “father” of Midsummer, and the Jånis children –
the celebrants who go from
farm to farm singing and
bringing blessings with
their songs, picking Jåñiherbs along the road. Every
phase of the celebration,
each situation and its characteristics are sung about.
Midsummer celebrations
can not be imagined without Jåñi-fires, which are lit
before sunset on Herb
evening and are kept going
until sunrise on Jåñi-morn.
The Jåñi-fire is made at the top of a hill. At the top of a pole is placed a
barrel of tar – pundeles or püdeles, a wheel soaked in tar and wrapped in
straw, or specially prepared straw lamps or torches. The Jåñi-fire purifies,
promotes health and fertility, and drives away evil.
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FALL CELEBRATION
The ending of summer and the turning of the sun towards winter marks the
autumn equinox (September 23). By the celebration of Mi˚e¬i all crops must
be stored and the gardens harvested, as after Mi˚e¬i the gates are open for
winter.
There is a special place for rituals connected with the reaping of grain at the
end of summer and the beginning of fall. With the beginning of reaping the
Rudenåji are celebrated, but at the conclusion of the reaping work, the most
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important assignment for the reapers was the driving or catching of Jumis.
The word “Jumis” has two meanings: two ears on one stalk are called Jumis,
or two fruits or vegetables that have grown together. In addition, Jumis in
Latvian beliefs is a field spirit and embodiment of fertility.
The oldest way of catching Jumis combined expressions of sowing and
reaping work. That is, upon the
completion of reaping, a Jumisclump was left uncut, the ears were
tied in a knot, bent to the ground,
and weighed down with a stone or
surrounded with soil. The grain was
rubbed out of the ears in the clump
and scattered in the prepared soil.
The spirit and strength of the harvest was directed back into the
earth, so that it could appear again
in the new sowing.
Later the last sheaf is plaited into a
wreath or braid, taken home with great honor, and given to the mistress,
who saves it in a place of honor until the next sowing. In the spring the
grain rubbed from the wreath is sown, or the entire wreath is placed under
a rock in the field.
As a special Jumis-food, a particular Jumis-loaf is baked. It is larger than the
usual bread loaf, and it is a great honor to eat this.
Sowing, threshing, and the catching of Jumis is connected with group
labor – talkas. Neighbors gathered together to do work, and after that they
had a feast with special responsorial singing, dancing, and fertility
rituals with erotic symbolism.
One of these rituals was the
struggle over the stebere (an imitation of the phallus from a carrot
and a pair of onions), that the
boys tried to take away from the
girls.
When the harvest is completed
the festival of Apjumîbas is celebrated. Following this, or in some
regions after Mi˚e¬i, the quiet
shadow period begins. At this
time the shadows – spirits of the
dead – visit the farmsteads to look over the life of the household and to
bring blessings for the course of future life and work. Special feasts are prepared in the threshing barns, saunas, or the living room.
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CHRISTMAS
The winter solstice (December 22) was celebrated when the
night was longest and the day shortest, when the intensity of
field work was lowest, but people gathered for evening bees to
do textile and other handiwork, to spin fairytales and other
stories, to guess riddles, sing, and dance. In
the Christian tradition
Christmas is the birth of
God’s son, but in traditional Latvian culture it
is the rebirth of the Sun
maiden.
During Christmas rooms
are decorated with
three-dimensional straw
or reed ornaments that
are vernacularly known
as lukturi, puzuri, krî©i,
putni, and so on. Evergreen branches, junipers, colored rags,
wood shavings and other natural materials are also used in the
decorations.
The best known Christmas tradition is mumming. In some regions these
˚ekatas are called bude¬i, küjenieki, prei¬i, kurciemi, çigåni, or kaladnieki.
The mumming period for Latvians is from Martinmas to Shrovetide,
but the most intensive mumming
activities
occur
around Christmas.
The mummers are
costumed and in
different masks. The
most common traditional masks are
bears, horses, cranes,
wolfs, goats, haystacks, tall women,
small men, death,
fortune-tellers, and
living corpses. Led
by a “father”, the
mummers travel from homestead to homestead or from village to village.
The mummers bring a home blessing, encourage fertility, and frighten
away any evil spirits.
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Another characteristic Christmas tradition is dragging the Yule log. This is
explained as the symbolic collecting and burning of last year’s problems and
misfortunes. The Yule log was either dragged by the people of one farmstead
or several neighbors together. This was accompanied by songs, singing
games, and various sounding instruments. If people from different farmsteads came together, then it was burned in the last farmstead.
Christmas Eve was sometimes called ü˚i evening. Other traditional foods
were peas, beans and barley sausage, which because of their round, curved
appearance were seen as symbols of the sun or the year.
An integral part of Christmas was a generous banquet, whose most
characteristic food included a pig’s head, which was boiled together with
barley mashed with a pestle. This food was called ˚ü˚is, koça, or kî˚as.
In our time Latvians bake gingerbread cookies and decorate a firtree with
lighted candles. The decoration of the Christmas tree is a tradition that was
borrowed from Baltic manor lords several hundred years ago.
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π The Latvian Institute, 2000
Written by: Måra Melléna
Layout: π Uldis Sosnovskis, 2000
English translation: Aija Veldre Beldava, Ojårs Kalniñß
Chief Editor: Raimonds Cerüzis
Editors: Ieva Pîgozne, Péteris Korsaks
Photographers: U.Brinkmanis, D.Kadaks, A.Korsaka, P.Korsaks,
T.Nigulis, I.Pîgozne, J.Pîgoznis, J.Tålbergs, E.Véveris