|
Meteņi
Meteņi () or Metenis is an ancient Latvian spring waiting holiday, that ends on Ash Wednesday, which is followed by Lent. Meteņi is celebrated in February or early March, seven weeks before Lieldienas. Origins The Meteņi celebration preserved the ancient traditions of New Year's Eve, because ancient Indo-European people celebrated New Year's Eve in mid-February. This came from the early Latvian word "meti", which meant turn of time, gauge. The original meaning is preserved in the word "laikmets" (era). Lithuanian word "metai" even now means "year". Name in other languages In Livonian populated regions and Riga, this celebration is known as Fastelavn (possibly originating from German ''Fastnacht'' - hunger night). Elsewhere, it is also called Lastavāgs, Aizgavēnis, Miesmetis, Buduļi Eve, and Pie Day. Lithuanians call it ''užgavėnės'', while Estonians call it ''vastlapäev''. To Russians and other Orthodox Christian peoples this festival is known as Maslenitsa (Rus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
February Observances
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (the other four being April, June, September, and November) and the only one to have fewer than 30 days. February is the third and last month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, February is the third and last month of meteorological summer (being the seasonal equivalent of what is August in the Northern Hemisphere). Pronunciation "February" is pronounced in several different ways. The beginning of the word is commonly pronounced either as or ; many people drop the first "r", replacing it with , as if it were spelled "Febuary". This comes about by analogy with "January" (), as well as by a dissimilation effect whereby having two "r"s close to each other causes one to change. The ending of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Užgavėnės
Užgavėnės is a Lithuanian festival that takes place during the seventh week before Easter (Ash Wednesday). Its name means ''"the time before Lent"''. The celebration corresponds to Roman Catholic holiday traditions in other parts of the world, such as Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, and Carnaval. Užgavėnės begins on the night before Ash Wednesday, when an effigy of winter (usually named ''Morė'') is burnt. A major element of the holiday, meant to symbolize the defeat of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, is a staged battle between ''Lašininis'' ("porky") personifying winter and ''Kanapinis'' (" hempen man") personifying spring. Devils, witches, goats, the grim reaper, and other joyful and frightening characters appear in costumes during the celebrations. The participants and masqueraders dance and eat the traditional dish of the holiday - pancakes with a variety of toppings. See also * Meteņi * Maslenitsa Maslenitsa ( be, Масленіца, russian: Мaсле ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Užgavėnės
Užgavėnės is a Lithuanian festival that takes place during the seventh week before Easter (Ash Wednesday). Its name means ''"the time before Lent"''. The celebration corresponds to Roman Catholic holiday traditions in other parts of the world, such as Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, and Carnaval. Užgavėnės begins on the night before Ash Wednesday, when an effigy of winter (usually named ''Morė'') is burnt. A major element of the holiday, meant to symbolize the defeat of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, is a staged battle between ''Lašininis'' ("porky") personifying winter and ''Kanapinis'' (" hempen man") personifying spring. Devils, witches, goats, the grim reaper, and other joyful and frightening characters appear in costumes during the celebrations. The participants and masqueraders dance and eat the traditional dish of the holiday - pancakes with a variety of toppings. See also * Meteņi * Maslenitsa Maslenitsa ( be, Масленіца, russian: Мaсле ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa ( be, Масленіца, russian: Мaсленица, rue, Фашенґи, uk, Масниця; also known as Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe week, or Cheesefare Week) is an East Slavic peoples, Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday, which has retained a number of elements of Slavic mythology in its ritual, celebrated during the last week before Great Lent, that is, the eighth week before Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Easter, Pascha. The date of Maslenitsa changes every year depending on the date of the celebration of Easter. It corresponds to the Western Christianity, Western Christian Carnival, except that Orthodox Lent begins on a Clean Monday, Monday instead of a Ash Wednesday, Wednesday, and the Orthodox Easter#Date, date of Easter can differ greatly from the Western Christian date. The traditional attributes of the Maslenitsa celebration are the Maslenitsa effigy, sleigh rides, festivities. Russians bake bliny and flatbread, while Belarusians a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italy, Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a co-official language of Luxembourg and German-speaking Community of Belgium, Belgium, as well as a national language in Namibia. Outside Germany, it is also spoken by German communities in France (Bas-Rhin), Czech Republic (North Bohemia), Poland (Upper Silesia), Slovakia (Bratislava Region), and Hungary (Sopron). German is most similar to other languages within the West Germanic language branch, including Afrikaans, Dutch language, Dutch, English language, English, the Frisian languages, Low German, Luxembourgish, Scots language, Scots, and Yiddish. It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic languages, North Germanic group, such as Danish lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Holidays In Latvia
This is a list of holidays in Latvia. ReferencesLatvia's National Holidays, Remembrance and Festive Days the Latvian InstituteLaw on public holidays, remembrance days and days of significance (In Latvian) {{Public holidays in Europe Public holidays in Latvia, Society of Latvia Observances in Latvia Lists of public holidays by country, Latvia Lists of events in Latvia, Holidays ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jāņi
Jāņi () is an annual Latvian festival celebrating the summer solstice. Although astronomically the solstice falls on 21 or 22 June, the public holidays—Līgo Day and Jāņi Day—are on 23 and 24 June. The day before Jāņi is known as Līgosvētki, Līgovakars or simply Līgo. On Jāņi, people travel from the city into the countryside to gather and eat, drink, sing and celebrate the solstice by observing the ancient folk traditions relating to renewal and fertility. It is celebrated both in Latvia and in many areas where the Latvian diaspora lives such as the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Australia. Title The name "Līgosvētki" was first used and introduced in 1900 in his Jāņi songs collection by Emilis Melngailis, who back in 1928 wrote in the newspaper "Jaunākās Ziņas": Traditions Use of plants Plant material, collected and used for decorative, therapeutic and other symbolic purposes, is important in the celebration of Jāņi. Most herbaceous plant, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laima
Laima is a Baltic goddess of fate. She was associated with childbirth, marriage, and death; she was also the patron of pregnant women. Laima and her functions are similar to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. In Latvia In Latvian mythology, Laima and her sisters, Kārta and Dēkla, were a trinity of fate deities, similar to the Norse Norns or the Greek Moirai. Laima makes the final decision on individual's fate and is considerably more popular. While all three of them had similar functions, Laima is the Goddess of luck and is more related with mothers and childbirth, Dēkla is in charge of children, and Kārta holds power over the adult's life. In modern Dievturi these three goddesses are referred to as the three Laimas, indicating they are the same deity in three different aspects. Birth rituals at the end of the 19th century included offerings of hen, sheep, towels or other woven materials to Laima. Only women could participate in the ritual, performed in a sauna (''pirtis''). In L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus scrofa'' (the wild boar or Eurasian boar) or a distinct species. The pig's head-plus-body length ranges from , and adult pigs typically weigh between , with well-fed individuals even exceeding this range. The size and weight of hogs largely depends on their breed. Compared to other artiodactyls, a pig's head is relatively long and pointed. Most even-toed ungulates are herbivorous, but pigs are omnivores, like their wild relative. Pigs grunt and make snorting sounds. When used as livestock, pigs are farmed primarily for the production of meat, called pork. A group of pigs is called a ''passel'', a ''team'', or a ''sounder''. The animal's bones, hide, and bristles are also used in products. Pigs, especially miniature breeds, are kept as pets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
