Winter Solstice ritual in Old Riga, Latvia

Yule Log Night, a traditional Latvian event celebrating the winter solstice and the re-birth of the Sun, took place in Old Town on the 21st December.

The ritual started at the Dome Square, the heart of Old Riga. Ķekatas – people dressed in beast costumes – get together singing songs that are aimed to send away evil spirits.

They drag the log across the town to collect all bad and evil that has accumulated here throughout the year. Later they return to the square and set the log afire, celebrating the new solar year with good spirits.

Roots of this tradition go back to pagan times, when winter and summer solstice were the most essential dates in the agricultural calendar of our ancestors.

Watch this panorama with sound here - http://www.virtuallatvia.lv/Tours/WinterSolstice/Tour.html

在附近的图片Riga

A: Staro Rīga!

摄影师Valdis Salekalns, 距离此地不超过10 米

B: Winter fair at Dome Square in Old Riga

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处10远

C: Winter fun

摄影师Igor Dubakov, 距离此处20远

D: The Dome Square

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处20远

The Dome Square is considered to be the heart of Old Riga. Its development started in the end of the ...

E: The Dome Square

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处20远

The Dome Square is considered to be the heart of Old Riga. Its development started in the end of the ...

F: The Dome Square at night - Riga - Latvia

摄影师Sergej Esnault, 距离此处20远

G: Christmas Market at Doma Square in Old Riga, Latvia

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处20远

H: Winter Solstice on Dome square

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处30远

I: Anti-government protests at the Doma Square in Old Riga, 13.01.2009

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处30远

J: Interior of the Dome Cathedral

摄影师Vil Muhametshin, 距离此处50远

The initial decoration of the interior of the Dome Cathedral was destroyed during the Reformation in ...

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