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Latvian traditional culture is the heritage from ancient times where old and longstanding traditions coexist with newer traditions, while inherited traditions mix with imported and invented ones, thus shaping the unique features of contemporary Latvian culture. The particularity of the traditional culture is found both in its diverse regional manifestations and also in the heritages saved by the individual and extended families. Nowadays the values of the traditional culture in most cases are inherited partially. Nevertheless, being only one facet of the contemporary culture it plays an important role both in the construction of Latvian identity and in the creation of the uniqueness of Latvian culture that makes us interesting to the other.
FAMILY RITUAL CEREMONIES
Besides the school and the church in the traditional society the family is a crucial community to digest and inherit the traditions.
The birth and the admission of the newborn in the family: the baptism.
In the traditional society the birth of a child and the admission of the newborn in the family is celebrated by a baptism ritual that was a family celebration until the church overtook it. The diversity of baptism customs in different regions of Latvia has survived only in legends and stories, yet in some places in Latvia, for example in Lejaskurzeme region, it is possible to meet grandmothers able not only to tell the procedure of traditional baptism ritual, but also to sing a ritual song for each part of it. The folklore movement and the folklore groups in Latvia provide the opportunity to experience a reconstructed baptism ritual both in a role of spectator and participant of it.
In Latvian traditional culture the baptism is a ritual of family circle. Usually all the participants of the ritual are relatives and neighbors, blessing the newborn child and wish all the best for his life - fortune, happiness and health. The godparents are nominated to be the substitutes of the parents in case the parents die or become unable to bring up and educate their children. The task of godparents is to take care of the child both materially and spiritually. In the day of baptism it is very important to think positive – the thoughts, the experiences and the mental attitude of present guests is the guarantee of the welfare, fortune and positive mental attitude of the child.
It is believed, that the experience and life story of the godparents impact the future of the child, therefore the invitation to become a godfather or a godmother is a great honor and responsibility at the same time.
Name giving in a sacred place is one of the most important rituals of baptism. Usually it is done in a particular, holy place in the nearest neighborhood - at a secular tree, spring or stone. Until the baptism the newborn was most often called a doll. In ancient times Latvians mostly gave children the names of natural phenomena, trees, birds, flowers or of desirable qualities.
Before putting the newborn child in the cradle, the cradle normally is decorated with flowers and some important donations are put into it in order to ensure the fortune of the child:
- Bread and money are put in the cradle for prosperity
- A page of a book is put in for wisdom. It is also told that the page of a book ensures that the child learns to read in early age.
A stone has to be put in the cradle before putting in the child. This ritual protects the newborn from black magic and spells. A very important ritual of the traditional Latvian baptism is dandling and dancing with the newborn child. During the sacred dance the person who holds the child raises up their hands and wears a beautiful costume. It ensures a good figure and prosperity for the newborn. Those, who dandle and dance with the newborn, should not have landed objects or clothes, because it endangers the future prosperity of the child. Also the agility of the dandlers impact the child’s nimbleness, activity and development of speaking abilities.
Contemporary birthday celebration
Nowadays the birthday celebration rituals in Latvia are very diverse. The contents and the celebration procedure depend on the personality of the hero of the day as well as on talents and creativity of the guests. Yet there are some consistent and widespread customs inherited from generation to generation. The birthday celebration is organized every year, and in this ritual only invited guests take part: relatives, friends and acquaintances. A particular importance is attributed to the years ending with 5 and 0). In many families a particular awakening rite with songs and congratulations of the hero of the day is practiced. During the day the hero of day receives the flowers and the presents. In the banquet he might have a decorated seat. The guests usually sing together one of several traditional Latvian birthday songs “Daudz baltu dieniņu” or “Augstu laimi, prieku” etc. The ritual cake or pie is decorated with the number of candles corresponding to the anniversary. The hero of the day shall blow out all candles at once. Another widespread tradition is to raise the chair of the person, whose birthday is celebrated, meanwhile he is sitting of it for a number of times corresponding to the birthday celebrated. This rite is especially popular for birthdays of children and young people.
Name day celebration
The name day celebration is an annual celebration according to the calendar, where every day of the year one ore more persons’ names are indicated. In other traditions this day is called the day of the Saint (according to church calendar). The customs and rites of the name day celebration are similar to those of birthday celebration – the bearers of the name indicated in the calendar also receive flowers, congratulations and presents, yet there is an unwritten law that guests can come uninvited to the name day party.
Inception of the conjugal life and related rituals and customs
To establish a family is one of the most important events in any person’s life, therefore it is still believed that the wedding should be celebrated according to the ancient rituals that guarantee the happiness and sustainability of the young couple in future. The wedding celebration is a traditional ceremony for settling down a family and it is also the family ritual which has survived most completely through the centuries. Each generation adds something to the rituals. Today the notion “traditional wedding” is polysemantic in terms of contents. It contains different meanings from “great fun for the entertainment of young couple and their guests” as well as the “inherited system of customs and rituals intended to prepare the young couple for the marriage” with many diverse variants in between.
Latgale and Kurzeme regions in contemporary Latvia are the regions where the ancient wedding traditions are best preserved.
Latvia folk songs contain testimonies of how in ancient times the bride was kidnapped or carried away by force, or she could also be engaged agreeing with her family on dowry size and its redemption.
Traditionally it is believed that autumn is the best season to celebrate the wedding as the harvest of the year is collected and all the large agricultural works are completed, but the best time to select the bride is considered to be the spring. In the previous centuries young people used to meet each other in church, in fairs, in joint work events and different celebrations. When a young man has chosen his eventual bride he shall visit her family for engagement or for asking her parents and brothers for the hand of his beloved. Receiving a positive answer, they agree on wedding date.
Formerly the wedding was celebrated both in bride’s and groom’s houses and the duration of the celebration varied between three days until entire week.
The wedding procedures include different trials for the young couple as the wedding is first of all a transition ritual. One of the trials is to deal with struggles or ‘gate of honor’ which is erected by the invited or even uninvited guests in the path the young couple must walk. Usually it was some task to complete or just a redemption fee required. It was believed that the bigger the gate of honor, the better conjugal life of the couple as the redemptions paid or completed prevent the problems in family. On their way to a wedding banquet the groom and bride are tested through performing daily housekeeping activities. Usually the groom is required to chop the firewood and the bride is asked to wash a dirty doll. Besides, the groom shall carry the bride over the path of towel with a plate hidden under it. Going over the plate it shall be broken in many pieces. The more pieces the more luck, richness and fertility in the conjugal life. A particular attention in wedding procedure is paid to the door and the threshold; special protective rituals before entering the house are carried out. The culmination of the traditional wedding is “mičošana” or “tuckering” when the crown of the bride is taken off and the headdress of a wife – a kerchief or a tucker is put on. Afterwards the bride’s crown is put on the head of one of the unmarried female relatives or friends. Sometimes it is done blindfolded, guessing the next couple to be married.
After the tuckering the young couple is accompanied to bed while singing songs – usually the young couple slept in a granary. The first marriage night in ancient traditions was very important since it proved the chastity of the bride – if she was virgin until the wedding, of which the new husband use to announce publicly the next morning. Also the awakening of the new couple is ritualized. Normally the husband and wife are awakened by the guests, who try to make noise with drums, voices, pans and cooking pots. Afterwards they wash in the same bowl and wipe in the same towel as well as offer a present to a person bringing the water.
A particular ritual in the wedding was teasing songs sung by the relatives of the bride and ushers – the relatives of the groom. Usually the teasing was started by the best singer and text maker singing a quatrain which was repeated by the others. In bride’s house the teasing is started by the relatives of the bride, in groom’s house by the relatives of the groom. Sometimes the teasing can be quite offensive, yet nobody should take umbrage. In case the teasing is addressed to the bride, she should not reply herself as the answer should come from the relatives. Formerly in the wedding there was another custom practiced – the bride was made to cry before leaving her parent’s house. The related songs told about the leaving father’s house and the loss of flourishing youth, yet the meaning of this ritual prescribed to leave all tears in home in order to avoid crying in the new house.
The property of the bride related to the new life – dowry – contained clothes, household objects, cattle etc. According to the rules of wedding ritual, the dowry was supposed to redeemed by the relatives of the groom, it was not allowed to put the chest on the ground and the carriers were required to deal with the struggles – overloaded cart, hobbled horses etc.
Very important ritual of the wedding is gift giving to all the relatives, gifts offered to the new house, auxiliary buildings and other places further supervised by the new wife.
The wedding house usually was decorated with flowers. One of the most important elements of the wedding is an abundant banquet with much food and drinks both with symbolic and erotic meaning. Traditionally the wedding ended up with eating stewed sauerkraut, therefore an entire system of customs is related to the cooking and hiding the sauerkraut as without them no wedding ended. The guests never left if they were not offered the sauerkraut.
Nowadays many of traditional wedding rituals have lost the initial magic meaning and have become just turned into the entertainment for the guests. Nevertheless, nobody will deny that the revival of the traditions and their adaptation to the contemporary life is individual choice and the opportunity to be taken.
The last family ritual ceremony: funeral customs and rituals
In Latvian traditional culture death is a logical and natural end of life considered to be a part of a rite of nature as well as a transition from this world to another world. The world is eternal in comparison to the short life of the people, the length of which does not depend on them, but is determined by Laima – Latvian deity of fate. Paradoxically not even Laima is almighty: as tell the folk songs she used to cry determining a hard life to somebody.
The funeral is a ritual with two basic functions: to help the deceased to step over the border between this world to another world and to help the relatives to resign themselves to what has occurred.
The old belief says that after the dying person exhales his last breath the windows of the room should be opened in order to let the soul go out freely.
The dead body is usually prepared for the funeral dressed in the best clothes and jewelry, adding also some necessary basic accessories. The folk songs usually tell of the funerary clothes in white color – shirts, sheets, plaids etc. After taking care of the dead, the body is placed into a coffin. In archaeological sites of kurši - the tribe living in the Western part of Latvia - the monolithic wooden coffins made from gross logs of pine or fir-tree have been found. Later on the coffins were made of wooden planks and were called in folk songs “a piece of six planks” or “next life’s house”. Even in the 20th century in the countryside of Latvia the people used to keep a coffin in house (in granary attic or similar place).
The preparatory works of the funeral also concern inviting guests and the cooking for the funeral banquet (baking wheat bread, slaughtering the cattle etc.). In ancient times also guests came to the funeral bringing the food and the drink themselves.
The folk songs often depict another funeral ritual - the wake of the dead. The wake included the gathering of the relatives, the banquet and singing all night. During the wake the candles are lit up. Most of the funeral songs are started by one person and repeated by the other people line by line. There are also written testimonies on funeral circle dances and ritual dances danced during the wake and after the burial. In Vidzeme region the tradition to trail the traces of the dead and to birch the funeral guests with the fir-tree branches was alive even in 20th century.
The funeral ceremony consists of selection and decoration of horses, the marking of the path with fir needles and the meal before leaving to the cemetery. The dead should be attended as luxuriously as possible closing and locking the gate afterwards to prevent his return. In everyday life the world of the alive and the world of the dead are strictly sequestered. The approximation of these two worlds happens only in fall, during the quite shadow period when all the spirits of dead are invited to visit their former houses.
Similarly to the wedding banquet also the funeral banquet shall be abundant. The meal usually is accompanied by remembering the deceased, singing and dancing, especially, if the deceased was not married.
After the funeral the belongings of the dead are distributed according his last will. The old belief says that if the last wish of the dead is not completed, something bad can happen to the person ignoring this rule.
Cult of ancestors and the commemoration of the dead
Cemetery rituals
The cemeteries in Latvia are one of the most significant and visible examples of cultural history. They are not forgotten since they are regularly visited and tidied up by the relatives of the dead, who keep their memories alive. The people living close to the cemetery go there every week or once in two weeks, change the cut flowers, cultivate the green areas and refresh the waffle-design of a rake in the sand around the graves. Those, who live in a long distance, come to the cemetery at least several times a year. In summer from June till September during the weekends the cemetery gatherings take place. Nowadays the youngest generation mostly does not live in the villages of their parents, many of them live abroad, and the cemetery gathering is a reason to come to visit the homeland and bring both the living and the dead together. Before the cemetery festival, all the graves usually are tidied up and decorated by flowers, candles, fresh sand, the decorative shrubs are cut and the flower beds are weeded. Latvians take care of the cemeteries as if they were gardens and even the landscape architects agree that Latvian cemeteries can be considered to be parks and that cemetery cultivation is type of gardening.
The ritual of the cemetery gathering consists of the church service led by the local priest and the celebration organized in family circle as a picnic near the cemetery if nobody of the extended family members lives is the locality anymore, or in a nearby house or farmstead of some of the relatives. Sometimes the small villages organize the cemetery gathering together with the village annual festival, which makes the local community to come together. The cemetery gathering tradition is not very ancient - it is about 100 years old.
Candle evening
In the fall – weekends from September till December the cemeteries are revived by the candle evenings. Similarly to the cemetery gathering also the candle evening requires the tidying up the graves and decorative shrubs, lighting up the candles around them and family gathering. Usually the candle evening in cemetery is accompanied by music and contemplative poetry readings.
LATVIAN SEASONAL HOLIDAYS
In its revolution around the sun, the earth has, in the course of one year's time, four primary points, connected with the changing lengths of day and night. They are marked with the beginning and end of certain farm work. This rhythm of nature determines when and how the four most important Latvian holidays are celebrated.
Latvia's seasonal traditions originated in the woodlands and countryside and reflect the values and lifestyle of people who worked and loved the land. Nevertheless, over the centuries these traditions have established themselves in cities as well and have adapted to the character of city life. As a result, Latvia's ancient seasonal traditions not only remain popular today; they have become an integral part of contemporary Latvian society.
Easter
Lieldienas, "The Great Day", "Great Days" - these are designations used in the folk songs for the spring equinox. According to folk tradition Easter has arrived when the day has become longer than the night for the first time that year.
On Easter morning people arose before the rising of the sun, and to obtain health and beauty, they hurried to wash their faces in a spring or a stream running east. This was followed by one of the most important Easter activities - awaiting the sunrise exactly when it appears on the equinox morning. In Liv villages the morning began with the calling and awakening of birds so they might protect the people from evil and sickness.
Those who had risen first, awoke those who were still sleeping and switched them with steamed birch branches. In this way a special force that encouraged fertility and endowed people with health and success was transferred from the branches. This ritual is connected with archaic concepts about the staff of life and its fertility enhancing power.
The spring equinox (March 21) is the time when farmers are hurried by endless labors and must keep up with the rapid awakening of nature and the rhythm of work. But the Latvian preserves a certain independence from this haste: for instance, one of the most important Easter rituals is the hanging of the swing and swinging. But when swinging at Easter, one must not stop the swing; it must stop on its own. Only when the swinging is gentle, will the flax field finish its blooming without being beaten down by rain or wind. According to archaic beliefs, swinging is connected with fertility, and it must be done, so the livestock will do well, as well as the flax, and one will be spared bites from mosquitoes and gadflies. The first to be swung were usually the master and mistress, after that the rest took their turns. In return for swinging them, the girls paid the boys eggs, pies, or even handmade mittens and socks.
In the past, eggs for different peoples were a symbol of life, and also in Latvian spring equinox traditions they were given a special place. Awaiting Easter, eggs were colored with onion skins, rye shoots, chamomile, or hay cuttings. This is not such an old custom, but in our day very popular. Eggs are given for swinging, and eggs are knocked together to see which one survives cracking, as according to belief, the one whose egg shell was strongest, will live longer. During Easter, eggs are rolled and eaten in great quantities, because in addition to round flatbreads and sprouted grains, they are the primary Easter foods.
Midsummer
The summer solstice (June 22) marks a divide in both nature and the work of the farmer. In nature it is the longest day and the shortest night when in Latvia the short summer has reached its flowering height. For the farmer plowing, sowing, and weeding work is done before Midsummer, but after Midsummer begins the period when crops are harvested, which starts out with hay mowing.
All of the herbs and flowers collected at Midsummer (Jāņi) are known as Jāņi-herbs, and the day before Midsummer is often known as Herb Day. During this time the collected herbs and roots are attributed special healing power, which is useful for healing both people and livestock. Midsummer herbs are plaited in wreaths and included in bouquets. Women and girls make wreaths for all celebrants to wear. Women traditionally wear flower wreaths while those worn by men are made of oak leaves or twigs. Rooms, byres, corrals, wells, mills, and other places important in the farmer's life are decorated with Midsummer herbs. The livestock and fences are adorned with wreaths. Birch, oak, and rowan boughs are used to decorate gates and rooms.
One of the most important Midsummer herbs in Latvia is the mythical blooming fern, which, according to legend, opens its magic golden flower only on Midsummer Eve. Midsummer Eve is a magic night when one may meet Mother Laima (Fortune) herself and Dieviņš walking, see money drying, and if very lucky - find the blooming fern flower.
For the Midsummer celebration, the mistress makes cheese, but the master brews beer. All the celebrants are treated with them. With the cheese wheel and the beer mug come the blessings of nature and God, but the songs, dances, and rituals of the Midsummer "children" in turn bring blessings to everything and everyone to whom songs are addressed. The highest point of the year's turning has been reached, and each celebrant participates in the wedding of the Sky Father and the Earth Mother.
The most colorful Midsummer traditions are the līgotne-songs - Midsummer folk songs with a characteristic refrain - līgo, līgo. Several thousand songs sing about Saule (Sun), the sky son Jānis, the hosts of each farmstead - "mother" and "father" of Midsummer, and the Jānis children - the celebrants who go from farm to farm singing and bringing blessings with their songs, picking Jāņi-herbs along the road. Every phase of the celebration, each situation and its characteristics are sung about.
Midsummer celebrations can not be imagined without Jāņi-fires, which are lit before sunset on Herb evening and are kept going until sunrise on Jāņi-morn. The Jāņi-fire is made at the top of a hill. At the top of a pole is placed a barrel of tar - pundeles or pūdeles, a wheel soaked in tar and wrapped in straw, or specially prepared straw lamps or torches. The Jāņi-fire purifies, promotes health and fertility, and drives away evil.
Fall celebration
The ending of summer and the turning of the sun towards winter marks the autumn equinox (September 23). By the celebration of Miķeļi all crops must be stored and the gardens harvested, as after Miķeļi the gates are open for winter.
There is a special place for rituals connected with the reaping of grain at the end of summer and the beginning of fall. With the beginning of reaping the Rudenāji are celebrated, but at the conclusion of the reaping work, the most important assignment for the reapers was the driving or catching of Jumis.
The word "Jumis" has two meanings: two ears on one stalk are called Jumis, or two fruits or vegetables that have grown together. In addition, Jumis in Latvian beliefs is a field spirit and embodiment of fertility.
The oldest way of catching Jumis combined expressions of sowing and reaping work. That is, upon the completion of reaping, a Jumis-clump was left uncut, the ears were tied in a knot, bent to the ground, and weighed down with a stone or surrounded with soil. The grain was rubbed out of the ears in the clump and scattered in the prepared soil. The spirit and strength of the harvest was directed back into the earth, so that it could appear again in the new sowing.
Later the last sheaf is plaited into a wreath or braid, taken home with great honor, and given to the mistress, who saves it in a place of honor until the next sowing. In the spring the grain rubbed from the wreath is sown, or the entire wreath is placed under a rock in the field.
As a special Jumis-food, a particular Jumis-loaf is baked. It is larger than the usual bread loaf, and it is a great honor to eat this.
Sowing, threshing, and the catching of Jumis is connected with group labor - talkas. Neighbors gathered together to do work, and after that they had a feast with special responsorial singing, dancing, and fertility rituals with erotic symbolism. One of these rituals was the struggle over the stebere (an imitation of the phallus from a carrot and a pair of onions), that the boys tried to take away from the girls.
When the harvest is completed the festival of Apjumības is celebrated. Following this, or in some regions after Miķeļi, the quiet shadow period begins. At this time the shadows - spirits of the dead - visit the farmsteads to look over the life of the household and to bring blessings for the course of future life and work. Special feasts are prepared in the threshing barns, saunas, or the living room.
Christmas
 The winter solstice (December 22) was celebrated when the night was longest and the day shortest, when the intensity of field work was lowest, but people gathered for evening bees to do textile and other handiwork, to spin fairytales and other stories, to guess riddles, sing, and dance. In the Christian tradition Christmas is the birth of God's son, but in traditional Latvian culture it is the rebirth of the Sun maiden.
During Christmas rooms are decorated with three-dimensional straw or reed ornaments that are vernacularly known as lukturi, puzuri, krīği, putni, and so on. Evergreen branches, junipers, colored rags, wood shavings and other natural materials are also used in the decorations.
The best known Christmas tradition is mumming. In some regions these ķekatas are called budeļi, kūjenieki, preiļi, kurciemi, čigāni, or kaladnieki. The mumming period for Latvians is from Martinmas to Shrovetide, but the most intensive mumming activities occur around Christmas.
The mummers are costumed and in different masks. The most common traditional masks are bears, horses, cranes, wolfs, goats, haystacks, tall women, small men, death, fortune-tellers, and living corpses. Led by a "father", the mummers travel from homestead to homestead or from village to village. The mummers bring a home blessing, encourage fertility, and frighten away any evil spirits. Another characteristic Christmas tradition is dragging the Yule log. This is explained as the symbolic collecting and burning of last year's problems and misfortunes. The Yule log was either dragged by the people of one farmstead or several neighbors together. This was accompanied by songs, singing games, and various sounding instruments. If people from different farmsteads came together, then it was burned in the last farmstead.
An integral part of Christmas was a generous banquet, whose most characteristic food included a pig's head, which was boiled together with barley mashed with a pestle. This food was called ķūķis, koča, or kīķas. Christmas Eve was sometimes called Ķūķi evening. Other traditional foods were peas, beans and barley sausage, which because of their round, curved appearance were seen as symbols of the sun or the year.
In our time Latvians bake gingerbread cookies and decorate a firtree with lighted candles. The decoration of the Christmas tree is a tradition that was borrowed from Baltic manor lords several hundred years ago.
 Latvian_Seasonal_Holidays.pdf (4.04 MB)
© Text: Māra Mellēna, 2000-2008
© The Latvian Institute
This fact sheet can be freely printed from homepage of the Latvian Institute, distributed and cited, on condition that the Latvian Institute is acknowledged as the source. The Latvian Institute promotes knowledge about Latvia abroad. It produces publications, in several languages, on many aspects of Latvia.
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