Contemporary Rituals
As times change old holidays and rituals are loosing meaning and relevance they used to have. Instead of bringing joy and peace of mind they are turning into a pressure to buy things we don’t need and meet people we sometimes don’t even like.
Loosing contact with practices that are mainly connected with past lifestyle is natural and inevitable and yet it kept opening bigger and bigger emptiness inside me.
I desperately lacked traditions and celebrations that would be meaningful to me and help me feel grounded and rooted by giving structure as well as habits. That’s how I decided to create my own rituals or give new meanings to the old ones that were practiced in Lithuania centuries ago. I took inspiration from an old Baltic calendar and archaic traditions that are still relevant today and invited my friends and family to join me. I hope this experiment of mine will inspire you to stop for a moment and create your own rituals that are unique and significant to you today.
Spring Equinox (Old new Year) Celebrating a new beginning with a long walk in the forest and visualising how do I see myself this year.
Jorė/New growth of Spring Taking a few days off to work on my passions and ideas no matter how useless or irrelevant they seem to be.
Summer Solstice (Midsummer) Celebrating life by making a flower crown, swimming naked and staying up all night.
Žolinė /New harvest Thriving after a long summer by having a huge party where everyone dance like crazy.
Autumn Equinox Making a fire and writing down a work plan which would help me to realize all the ideas that came to me during the summer.
All Saint’s Day Visiting dead friends and relatives and lighting candles for their memory.
Winter Solstice (Christmas) Having deep and honest gatherings with my family.
Carnival Making a mask which represents all the heavy feelings that came to me during the winter and burning it.
Thank you for your time!
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