22/06/2024
Have you ever wondered how Latvians celebrate their grandest national festival, Līgo and Jāņi?
🌿We head to the countryside to celebrate and, like our ancestors, connect with nature. We believe that on this night, nature has mystical and empowering abilities.
🌿We decorate our homes, yards, gates, and tables with rowan branches, birch twigs, herbs, and wildflowers, because we believe that these decorations protect against evil spirits.
🌿We gather herbs for tea, as we believe that herbs collected on Līgo night have a magical power to make us healthy.
🌿We weave and wear wreaths: flower wreaths for girls and oak leaf crowns for men. We believe that each flower in the wreath has a different meaning and is a symbol of beauty, while oak leaves represent power and strength.
🌿We adorn livestock with wreaths made of flowers and herbs as we believe that it protects them from evil spirits and ensure their health and productivity.
🌿As the sun sets, we light bonfires and keep them burning through the night until sunrise. Bonfires symbolize the sun’s victory over darkness.
🌿We sing and dance throughout the night. We believe that Līgo songs promote the fertility of sown fields and prevent misfortunes. These songs also often humorously tease family, friends, and neighbors, poking fun at local characters and situations. ‘Līgo’ in old Livonian means “let it become.”
🌿On Līgo night, two essentials must grace every table: special ‘Jāņi’ cheese with caraway seeds and beer. We believe these will encourage the growth of barley and the production of cow's milk in the coming summer.
As we believe in the mystery and magic of the night, we:
🌺Jump over the midsummer or ‘Jāņi’ bonfire to bring good luck and ensure health and prosperity for the coming year. Couples who jump holding their hands believe that magical flames bind them together.
🌺Swim n**e on Jāņi night to gain beauty and youth, as the water is believed to have special purifying and healing powers on this night.
🌺Search for the mythical fern flower, which is believed to bloom only on Jāņi night. Finding it brings great luck, fortune, wisdom, and the ability to understand animals. Couples searching together are believed to forge stronger bonds. Fun fact: babies born between late March and early April are sometimes referred to as “fern flowers”!
🌺Roll in the morning dew or wash our faces with it, as it is believed to ensure health and beauty.
🌺Women throw their wreaths into an apple or oak tree, believing that the number of times the wreath falls to the ground indicates the years left until marriage.
🌺Young unmarried women gather nine different types of flowers and place them under their pillows to dream of their future husbands.
🌺And most importantly, we stay awake all night long! We firmly believe that if you fall asleep before sunrise, you will sleep through the entire summer!
Līgo/Jāņi is a Latvian tradition celebrating the shortest night and the longest day—the summer solstice. It is rooted in pagan mythology, and we uphold the traditions our ancestors did centuries ago.
