Jani

Jani is Latvia's Summer Solstice Festival. It's a long weekend here since June 23-24 are holiday for the said occasion. Most people from the city goes out of town to the countryside to celebrate the festival.

Jani is one of Latvia's most celebrated holidays. It is said to be the longest day and shortest night in Latvia. (That might happen soon since it has been raining here lately.) All the herbs and flowers are collected the day before. During this time the collected herbs and roots have attributed special healing powers, which is useful for healing both people and livestock. Midsummer herbs are plaited in wreaths and included in bouquets. Women traditionally wear flower wreaths while those worn by men are made of oak leaves or twigs. The traditional food for the midsummer celebration are cheese and beer. They also build big bonfires that will be kept going until sunrise.

Our normally quiet neighborhood is like a ghost town now. You can't even see nor hear cars passing by. They say Latvians go home to their province and celebrate it there with the rest of their loved-ones. This is such a big deal here. You can see trunks and branches of trees placed along the corners of the hotels or any establishments. Most shops are also close from yesterday till today.

It would be nice to witness it in the countryside. But we don't have means to do that. Hubby isn't here and most of the people we know are out of the country or gone somewhere. Oh well, we'll just have our own version of Jani here at home!

Gorgeously . . .
Mrs. G