VÄ—linÄ—s or IlgÄ—s,
[Aleksandras Žarskus. â]
Rudens virsmo Å¡ventÄ—s. IlgÄ—s. VÄ—linÄ—s
“. Sutrumpinta iš Kauno tautinės kultūros centro leidinio „Baltų pasaulėjauta ir lietuviška savimonė“, III dalies (2000 m.). Nuoroda tikrinta 2007-11-02. is the day of remembrance and honoring of the dead in
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. It is celebrated on November 2 (All Souls' Day in the Catholic liturgy).
It is often merged with
All Saints' Day
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are know ...
(Lat. Commemoratio Omnium Fidelium ''Defunctorum''), celebrated on November 1.
Traditionally, this holiday is celebrated by going to mass, and visiting the graves of the dead.
History
Prayer for the dead as a community began in at least the 4th century in Lithuania.
The original holiday honoring the dead was called IlgÄ—s. After Lithuania's Christianization around the 13th century, it became known as VÄ—linÄ—s, which is analogous to All Soul's Day.
Customs
Celebrations of
All Souls' Day
All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain p ...
traditionally include going to morning and evening mass. After mass, the congregation goes on a procession that ends in the cemetery, where they offer prayers to the dead.
In traditional Lithuanian culture, it was believed that ghosts gathered in graves, on top of crosses, and in trees in the cemeteries. The celebrations to honor the dead took place in the cemetery so that the living could commune with their dead loved ones.
Traditional ways of celebrating IlgÄ—s included sitting by the graves of relatives and sharing food with anyone in need.
In some places in Lithuania, food was left on the graves of the dead as an offering overnight and food was distributed to people on All Saints' Day.
Starting in the 20th century, people began to light candles and leave them on graves of loved ones to celebrate VÄ—linÄ—s.
It is also common to tidy up the areas around graves and decorate them with flowers. Traditions of caring for graves extends beyond family connection: it is common for Lithuanians to tidy up the graves of strangers in honor of this holiday.
Sources
{{morecat, date=April 2024
Baltic religion
Observances honoring the dead