KŪČIOS |
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KŪČIOS |
Kalėdos susideda iš dviejų skirtingos semantikos švenčių – išvakarių dienos, vadinamos Kūčiomis (gruodžio 24) ir Kalėdų (gruodžio 25-26).
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The Christmas celebration consists of two different meaning celebrations – eve day called „KŪČIOS“ or Christmas eve (the 24th of December) and Christmas (the 25th and 26th of December).
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------For those who want to invoke a less than Christian view about this
KŪČIOS holiday -see the below--
As presented on the internet by- Inija Trinkuniene ,The leader of Vilnius Baltic Religion Community-Research fellow, Institute for Social Research, Lithuania
“Two important holidays – KŪČIOS and Kalėdos – mark the end of the year – when the world returns to darkness and non-existence. However, as death begets birth, the two holidays also herald the rebirth of nature and the return of the sun. The Lithuanians distinguish the two subsequent days, now celebrated on 24 and 25 December with a variety of ritual customs.
Indo-European cultures traditionally greet the New Year with rituals and tales that reenact and relate the creation of the world.
Adults begin their preparation for KŪČIOS and Kalėdos by placing a cherry twig in water on the day when bears start to hibernate, which is the first day of winter according to folklore. The twigs sprout roots in time for the holiday. Children play games symbolizing the planting of crops such as the one wherein girls imitate sowing, by strewing hemp seeds, which prompts dreams about future husbands.
The ancient calendar feast days are special because they help man experience the main segments of life: birth – maturity – old age – death. Such calendar helps man realize and live through the circle of life, all the while preparing for the trip to the other side. Folk calendar songs and rites reveal the secrets of the circle of life. Creation of the world and its dispersion, is celebrated in an ancient Lithuanian Christmas song:
A pear tree stands in the middle of the field, Kalėda
Oh! And a spark fell, Kalėda
Oh! And the blue sea spilled over, Kalėda
On that sea – a ship is sailing, Kalėda
In that ship – a chair stands, Kalėda
On that chair – a girl sits, Kalėda
This is a Southern Lithuanian winter solstice song. The word kalėda refers to the time of Winter solstice. A candle burns in a pear tree – in the world tree. The fire of the candle is the sacred altar fire. A spark fals, creating the sea – moving the sacred waters, awakening the universal force of life. The song is usually sung during Winter Solstice, when lighting a new fire for the new year.
The solemn feast of KŪČIOS unites the living with the dead as well as all forms of life: people and animals. The house requires special preparation. The family hangs up an iconic "grove:" birds made of wood- straw or egg shells surrounding a straw sun. This grove as well as a multitude of burning candles invokes the souls of the dead (vėlė) who sit at a small table with bread, salt, and Kūčia on it. The Kūčia contains many traditional grains which symbolize regeneration: cooked wheat, barley, peas, beans, rye, poppy seeds, hemp seeds, etc. mixed with nuts and honey water. The Kūčia feeds the souls of the ancestors. as well as the living. The living sit at another table, covered with hay and a table cloth. In earlier days, hay also used to cover the floor. Symbols of the life force, which sustain the human world, decorate the main table. This includes a bundle of unthrashed rye, which the family used the next day to bind around its apple trees.
KŪČIOS, an exclusively nocturnal celebration, begins when the evening star appears in the sky. Before gathering at the ritual table, everybody bathes in saunas, makes up with their neighbors, and forgives their enemies. In olden days, the head of the household, wearing high black boots, a large black sash (juosta), and a prominent black hat – used to circle the farmstead three times. He would approach the house door after evervbody else had entered. To the question "Who is there?", he answered "Dearest God (Dievulis) with the Kūčia begs admittance".
Once the family gathers, the eldest member (man or woman) says a traditional invocation and breaks the Kūčia bread, which everybody gives to each other. According to the sixteenth century historian Praetorius, every member of the family, placing a loaf of bread on the floor, prayed: "Žemėpatis (God of the homestead), we thank you for the good bread you give us. Help us work the fields while blessing you, that
Žemynėlė (Mother Earth Goddess, sister of Žemėpatis ) would continue to give us your good gifts." Then everyone, raising the bread to the sky, concluded with: "Nourish us".
After the exchange of the Kūčia bread, each person sips some beer, spilling few drops onto the floor for the vėlės, the souls of the dead. Dinner follows. KŪČIOS traditionally required 13 different foods, which echoed the 13 lunar months of the year. Under the influence of the solar calendar, the number changed to 12. The foods may not contain any meat or milk. The meal consists of Kūčia (mixed grain dish described above), Kisielius (a type of cranberry jello), hot beet soup, mushroom dumplings, cabbage, fish, and seafood.
Animals partake in the ceremony by eating the same food that people eat. When people and animals used to live under one roof, everybody fed their household and farm animals from the table. On farms. families still feed their animals with the leftovers from
KŪČIOS. The families also share the food with bees and fruit trees.
After dinner, while everyone remains at the table, the children and young people pull straws of hay out from underneath the tablecloth. A long straw represents a long and prosperous life. The adults too would tell their own fortunes im a variety of ways.
Participants exchange wishes for each other by pouring grains into the hearth fire. The hearth becomes the sacred fire of the home. Each single grain sown in the fire grows and prospers. The family also ritually burns a birch wreath, stump, or log in the hearth, representing the old year The participants can also destroy evil by burning splinters they invest with meaning.”