Rasos (Midsummer) festival in Kernavė

The Midsummer festival tradition, the Lithuanian Rasos or Kupolės, Joninės – St Jonh’s Day after the Christianisation of Lithuania, outstands for the plenty of customs, beliefs and ritual actions. The totality of them gives the special meaning to the solstice, the longest day, the greatest flourish of plants and vital forces, the harmony of nature and humanity.

The Rasos festival, which is annually organised at the Kernavė Archeological Reserve, represents the most important meaning of this time of year. It is also historically important, as in 1967 for the first time the Rasos festival, initiated by the Romuva movement, was celebrated following the archaic customs of the Baltic tribes, reconstructed from written records (some from 14th c.), ethnographic and folklore sources, scientific research. The festival had given impulse for the development of the Lithuanian folklore movement. Together with other resistance movements, which focused on strengthening national identity and patriotic spirit, it contributed to the restoration of the independence of the state. The Rasos festival aroused vital forces of the nation, ancient traditions, wisdom and beliefs for the new life.

The festival is celebrated following the long-time order. The wooden wheels with torches and wreaths are hoisted on the mounds, an altar, bonfire and gates are installed. The participants of the festival (over 10 thousand people!) pluck medicinal herbs and plants, make wreaths, the fire is kindled in the altar following a ritual, the spirits of the ancestors and the deities are honoured, the sun is farewelled and welcomed again, it is sung and danced at the bonfire, the wreaths are floated in Neris at the midnight and at the sunrise people wash with dew. The festive rituals focus on the sun, fire, water and plants, acquiring the greatest power at the solstice, which they transmit to the human being. The audience feel they are true actors of the happening, the creators, by singing together, chanting sutartinės, dancing and performing ritual actions.

The space gives a special dimension to the festival. The site of Kernavė has an exceptional meaning in the state and for the nation for its significant historical past, the mythological abundance, splendid nature and magnificent mounds.

The Rasos festival is the biggest summer celebration in the Širvintos Region and the most important to Kernavė community. On that day the local people receive friends and relatives wishing to take part in the festival – the unity of peaceful and sustainable natural, cultural and historical space and the live cultural traditions immanent to Kernavė regional identity.

Submitter – Culture Centre of Širvintos District Municipality, 2019

Custodian – Širvintos District Municipality, Culture Centre of Širvintos District Municipality, association “Medgrinda”, State Museum of Archaeology and History of Kernavė