Lietuvių kalendorinės šventės: tautosakinė medžiaga ir aiškinimai

LTŽinomo lietuvių mokslininko knyga 1978 m. buvo išleista JAV. Joje aprašomos lietuvių kalendorinės šventės, apeigos ir papročiai. Sugrįžtant senosioms lietuvių šventėms - šv. Kalėdoms. Kūčioms. šv. Velykoms ir kt., leidinys turi ne tik mokslinę, bet ir didelę praktinę reikšmę. Ši knyga - savotiška lietuvių papročių, burtų ir apeigų enciklopedija. Skiriama etnografams ir visiems, kurie domisi lietuvių kultūra bei istorija. [Anotacija knygoje]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvių papročiai; Apeigos; Kalendorinės šventės; Lietuvių folkloras; Tikėjimai; Burtai; Magija. Keywords: Lithuanian customs; Rituals; Calendar feasts; Lithuanian folklore; Magics; Magic spells; Beliefs.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Tautosaka; Kalendorinės šventės; Tradicijos; Folklore; Calendar holidays; Ritual year; Traditions.

ENThe day before Christmas (Lith. Kūčios) was considered a half-holiday, and people did only work connected with the holy season. Especially forbidden was: to use a quern or hand mill to avoid a thunderstorm in summer (4,6), to spin (4,9), to patch garments (10), and to chop wood (11), because something bad would happen to your domestic animals. After fasting all day, a solemn dinner was given after seeing the Evening Star (8), and all family members would try to come together even from far away. Those absent were remembered sadly (40), and for a dead one a glass of beer was put at his usual sitting place (48). Hay was spread under the table-cloth, because Christ was born in a manger (14-22). After dinner hay was put under the table and the next day given to animals except horses (17-21). The dinner was started, after saying grace, with „plotka", an unleaven wheat wafer made and distributed by Church officials. It is a relic of „agape", a love feast, practiced by the primitive Christians. The family head breaks one „plotka" and gives a piece to everybody as token of togetherness (39), and other customs with „plotka" are performed (36, 44-47). No meat (except fish) or dairy products are served. The principal dish is called kūčia it is a mixture of cooked whole grains of wheat, barley, oats and peas, mixed with honey sweeted water and milk of ground poppy seeds (miešimas) (25, 28-29, 32). Other dishes are: red beet soup, fish (usually pike and herring), soup of šližikai (hard baked small dumplings), oat iruit jellies (kisielius), mushrooms; the drinks are beer and kvass (23-25, 28-34). [...]. [From the publication]