The Lithuanian calendar is unusual among Western countries in that neither the names of the months nor the names of the weekdays are derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

or Norse mythology. They were formalized after Lithuania regained independence in 1918, based on historic names, and celebrate natural phenomena; three months are named for birds, two for trees, and the remainder for seasonal activities and features. The days of the week are simply

ordinal numbers In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets. A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the least ...

. The Lithuanian calendar shows some similarities with the

Slavic calendar While many Slavic languages officially use Latin-derived names for the months of the year in the Gregorian calendar, there is also a set of older names for the twelve months that differs from the Latin month names, as they are of Slavic origin. In ...

History

Lithuanian researcher proposed that there was a simple astronomical observatory on the Birutė Hill in

Palanga Palanga (; bat-smg, Palonga; pl, Połąga; german: Polangen) is a seaside resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Palanga is the busiest summer resort in Lithuania and has sandy beaches (18 km, 11 miles long ...

before the

Christianization of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos krikštas) occurred in 1387, initiated by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas the Great. It signified the official adoption of Christianity b ...

. The so-called Sceptre of

Gediminas Gediminas ( la, Gedeminne, ; – December 1341) was the king or Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 or 1316 until his death. He is credited with founding this political entity and expanding its territory which later spanned the area ranging from t ...

cause much speculation about a medieval Lithuanian calendar. It was found on the shore of the Strėva River near in 1680. It was an iron stick in length covered in brass tin with small golden nails that formed various symbols grouped in a spiral of 39 rows. The original was lost at the end of the 19th century, but copies were made and one is kept at the

National Museum of Lithuania The National Museum of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus), established in 1952, is a state-sponsored historical museum that encompasses several significant structures and a wide collection of written materials and artifacts. It also or ...

. A copy owned by the historian

Teodor Narbutt Teodor Narbutt ( lt, Teodoras Narbutas; 8 November 1784 – 27 November 1864) was a Polish–Lithuanian romantic historian and military engineer in service of the Russian Empire. He is best remembered as the author of a nine-volume Polish-langu ...

was studied and described by the Russian astronomer

Matvey Gusev Matvey Matveyevich Gusev (russian: Матве́й Матве́евич Гу́сев) ( in Vyatka, Russia– in Berlin, Germany) was a Russian astronomer who worked at Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg from 1850 to 1852 ...

who argued that the symbols marked lunar months and days. No similar artifacts have been found since and researchers doubt its authenticity. The

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

was used in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

; the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

was adopted by the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

in 1586, a few years after its promulgation in 1582 by

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

. In 1800, following Lithuania's annexation by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, the Julian calendar again became the norm, although a part of ethnic Lithuania left of

Nemunas River The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

( Suvalkija) retained the Gregorian calendar (see

Aleksotas The Aleksotas elderate ( lt, Aleksoto Seniunija) is an elderate in the southern section of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, bordering the left bank of the Nemunas River. Its population in 2006 was 21,694. The elderate borders Vilijampolė and Cen ...

). The

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

re-instated the Gregorian calendar, which had been the Western European standard for over a century, in January 1918. These changes caused some confusion before their usage became familiar.Lithuanian calendar from the 13th to 20th centuries

Names of the months

The standardization of month names was made difficult by the fact that publication in the Lithuanian language was illegal from 1864 to 1904 (see Lithuanian press ban) and some drift in the usages occurred. Month names are not capitalized in the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 mill ...

, reflecting their

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

origins. * ''Sausis'' (January) derives from the adjective ''sausas'', "dry". At this point in Lithuania's

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

, precipitation is usually in the form of fine, dry snowflakes, and indoor

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

is very low. Its historic names included ''ragas, didysis ragutis, siekis, sausinis'', and ''pusčius''. * ''Vasaris'' (February) derives from the noun ''vasara'', "summer". At this point, the days have begun to lengthen, there are occasional thaws, and thoughts and plans of summer reawaken. Its historic names were ''ragutis, kovinis'', and ''pridėtinis''. * ''Kovas'' (March) may derive from either the noun ''kovas'', the

rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military * Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

, or the noun ''kova'', meaning battle. Rooks increase their activity at this time, building their nests and mating. The alternate derivation refers to the struggle between winter and spring. It was formerly known as ''morčius'' and ''karvelinis''. * ''Balandis'' (April) is derived from ''balandis'', the

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, which at this point has begun to coo, nest and mate. Earlier names included ''žiedų, sultekis, gegužinis, karvelinis, biržėtas'', and ''Velykų''. * ''Gegužė'' (May) is derived from ''gegužė'', the

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

. Its call is felt to herald the final arrival of spring. Several folk beliefs are associated with this event. It was earlier known as ''gegužinis'', ''sėtinis'', ''sėmenis'', ''žiedžius'', ''žiedų'', ''berželis'', ''sultekis'', ''milčius'', and ''mildinis''. * ''Birželis'' (June) is derived from ''beržas'', the

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

, which flowers during this month. Birch branches are used as decorations during Pentecost. Its earlier names were ''visjavis, jaunius, žienpjovys, sėmenis, kirmėlių, biržis, mėšlinis'', and ''pūdymo''. * ''Liepa'' (July) is derived from ''liepa'', the linden tree, which flowers during this month; the flowers pleasantly scent the air, are used to make

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

s, and attract honeybees. Older names for the month were ''liepinis'', ''liepžiedis'', ''plaukjavis'', ''plūkis'', ''šienpjūtis'', and ''šienpjūvis''. Cognate to

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

br>lipiec

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

br>липень
(lypen') and Belarusianbr>ліпень
(lipień). * ''Rugpjūtis'' (August) is derived from ''rugiai'', rye, and the verb ''pjauti'', to cut. This staple Lithuanian grain is harvested then; before mechanization, this was performed with

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feed ...

s. It was also known as ''degėsis'', ''paukštlėkis'', and ''pjūties''. * ''Rugsėjis'' (September) is also derived from ''rugiai'', with the verb ''sėti'', to sow. The grain is sown at this time, germinates, and overwinters in the fields, resuming growth in the spring. Other names for this month were ''rudenio'', ''vėsulinis'', ''paukštlėkis'', ''šilų'', ''rujos'', ''strazdinis'', ''rudugys'', ''viržių'', ''sėjos'', ''veselinis'', and ''vesulis''. * ''Spalis'' (October) is derived from ''spaliai'', flax hards. The plant was harvested at this time; it was and is used for fiber, food, and as a cash crop. The historic names for this month were ''vėlinis'', ''spalinis'', ''lapkristys'', ''visagalis'', and ''septintinis''. * ''Lapkritis'' (November) is derived from ''lapas'', leaf, and ''kristi'', to fall. Its older names include ''vėlių'', ''vėlius'', ''spalinis'', ''lapkrėstys'', ''lapkristys'', ''grodis'', ''gruodinis'', and ''vilkų''. * ''Gruodis'' (December) is derived from the noun ''gruodas'', which has no direct English equivalent; it may be described as "a frozen clod". Its older names include ''sausinis, vilkinis, vilkų'', and ''Kalėdų''. Cognate to

br>grudzień
and

br>грудень
(hruden').

Days of the week

The days of the week are named in sequence, beginning with Monday. They are ''pirmadienis'' ("first day"), ''antradienis'', ''trečiadienis'', ''ketvirtadienis'', ''penktadienis'', ''šeštadienis'', and ''sekmadienis''. They are not capitalized.

References

External links

Months in the Lithuanian calendar

Photos of a modern solar calendar in Kretinga

The Lithuanian calendar
{{Calendars Calendar Specific calendars

History

Names of the months

Days of the week

See also

References

External links