Dianes Diary - Last Friday as Jim & I strolled toward Gedimino gatve (street) to do some shopping we noticed two strange characters on the 2nd floor balcony of the building across the street. Our curiosity got the better of us. There was a green banner above the gate to the courtyard of the same building with another character standing by the gate. We could see more characters back through the gate. I whipped out my phone, opened my translator ap and typed in UŽGAVĖNĖS. It means pancake day! We crossed over & entered the courtyard to discover this strange looking community! Im sorry to report that we missed all the festivities due to ignorance! Evidently Pancake Day was celebrated Saturday instead of Tuesday. We havent been able to find out why. Wanting to know what part these characters played in pancake day Ive done a little research. Lithuania was the last pagan nation in Europe. Thus their festivals and celebrations are a mixture of different and interesting Christian and pagan traditions. The pagan part of Pancake Day has to do with celebrating the end of winter. The characters are meant to scare winter away. Children dress up and go around their neighborhood asking for pancakes or candy. Similar to Halloween except that children here have to be cheerful and even sing a traditional song. When it gets dark people gather to watch the fight between Lašininis (porky man) who represents winter and Kanapinis (hempen man) who represents spring. Kanapinis always wins symbolizing the true defeat of winter. The night brings a bonfire in which the effigy of winter named Morė is burned. Pancake Day is celebrated with dancing and singing and many other possible traditions. Hopefully next year well be smarter and be able to join in on some of the festivities.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:34:37 +0000
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