Midsummer night festival - Jāņi&Līgo

[Twomoles 8]

First of all is that this fest means more then Christmas or New Year eve to any Latvian. It’s the time when everyone gets together, family, friends, and neighbors. I wasn’t sad not being there in Christmas, but Līgo fest I miss so much.

The main idea is that this is sun solstice, the shortest night (well, almost no night, almost like polar day, that’s why I cant get used to these dark summers here, when its dark so quick).

There is special food for this day -cheese, grill pie and of course beer (much darker and stronger then its here). All cooking is always outside. You won’t see any person in Riga or other major cities; these are almost empty and silent in these days. When you do cookout, you need to use real fire, grill is cheating. When you drive, you will see fireworks everywhere, because in case it gets darker, you need to keep light for sun in shortest night in year.

This is the time line before harvest, so you are supposes to be done with all your things, to start new sun year – your garden works, debts, at least clean your house.

We also decorate houses, cars, with oak leaves, flags, flowers and birch tree, wear flowery things in your clothes and wreathe oak for males and flowers for girls.

It’s about folk. So in these days we listen to folk or country music, radios wouldn’t play anything different anyway.

This is fest about fertility mostly. This is the night when it doesn’t matter who is married or who isn’t. And you need to fund blossom of fern (we know that fern doesn’t have blossoms, its impossible to find), and you usually go in couples to find it (it takes time, and you are allowed to get lost with your lover). No wonder, that most of our children there is born around April.

You are allowed to be crazy. And drink a lot. Even people you usually see nice and reserved all year long, gets out of control in these two days. (Unfortunately, most DUI and driving accident statistics we make in these two days)

You are allowed to go from neighbor to neighbor and ask for beer and cheese, and take more people and go to next house. There is songs or saying you can say about them, if they don’t give you food – your garden is so #######, your nose is skew, your car is junk and other jokes about each other. And stay there unless they give you cheese and beer.

You go dance, swim, play games, jump over fireworks, go visiting, eat and drink - day and night.

There is different silly and nice believes about this night. You are not allowed, to sleep in this night, (none does, it’s too much fun.), then you will be healthy all next year. You need to wash face in milk, so you will look beautiful. You need to swim in midnight, so mosquitoes won’t bite you. If you put oak in your house, you will get son, if birch tree – daughter. There is so many, different in each place, some are old beliefs, some are created for fun.

But really, you won’t believe what amazing crazy prodigy is happening there, until you see this.

http://www.widdershins.org/vol8iss2/01.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/al2/LatvianStuff/...nfestivals.html

http://www.youwontbelieveit.eu/pages/index.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C4%81%C5%86i