Mikeli
Encyclopedia
In ancient Latvia
, Miķeļi was a festival held on September 22–September 24, during the dzelzs nedēļa meaning "the week of iron
." The holiday was held sacred and associated with the gods Miķelis and Jumis.
The festival held at the end of the harvest season; when Jumis' gift of food had been received.
On the first day, a ritual called the Catching of Jumis takes place. Jumis, represented by a double-headed stalk of grain, was said to be hiding in the last of the unharvested fields. This last cut is saved until the end, so as to please Jumis, and invite him back the following spring. These last stalks are tied with special twine and placed in a barn, separate from the rest of the harvest. The grasses are then used during the winter to cure sick livestock. Chicken
is eaten at the evening's feast.
The second day was a feast and party.
The third day was a market day, and also the only day men proposed to their prospective wives.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Miķeļi was a festival held on September 22–September 24, during the dzelzs nedēļa meaning "the week of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
." The holiday was held sacred and associated with the gods Miķelis and Jumis.
The festival held at the end of the harvest season; when Jumis' gift of food had been received.
On the first day, a ritual called the Catching of Jumis takes place. Jumis, represented by a double-headed stalk of grain, was said to be hiding in the last of the unharvested fields. This last cut is saved until the end, so as to please Jumis, and invite him back the following spring. These last stalks are tied with special twine and placed in a barn, separate from the rest of the harvest. The grasses are then used during the winter to cure sick livestock. Chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
is eaten at the evening's feast.
The second day was a feast and party.
The third day was a market day, and also the only day men proposed to their prospective wives.