Lietuvių kalendorinės šventės ir apeigos

ENSince ancient times, Lithuanians have been engaging in various kinds of businesses – hunting, fishing, cattle breeding and farming. Scientists commonly agree that cattle breeding and farming became the most important resources of living from the day people started living sedentary life. Annually recurrent, ever changing seasons destined repetitive and obligatory daily shores with short moments of respite, such as holidays dedicated to rejoice upon the work results. All of this conditioned the rhythm of life and formatted the lifestyle of village people. Existence of the farmers mainly depended on nature; their life and activities in quite difficult conditions for farming in Lithuania required observation, accuracy, a lot of knowledge and ability to adopt. Valuable experience was accumulated and transferred from generation to generation in a form of rituals, traditions and holidays. Farming with primitive and unproductive tools was a complicated work with results vulnerable to the storm, heavy rain or draught and, therefore, since ancient times people used to look for the help from natural powers, souls of the predecessors and Gods. Calendar customs, rites and rituals performed this important compensatory function helping to survive and give meaning to existence. Lithuanian calendar holidays and rites are traditional agrarian year cycle holidays and rites performed on a strictly defined time according to the folk calendar. Over many centuries of formation and practical usage of this customs and rites system, it helped to survive and harmonize the farmstead. Calendar melodies performed during the rites, empower their pragmatic functions (especially communicational and emotional). With decay of rite‘s importance, melodies become of hedonistic function and a means for expressing individual emotions. Therefore, the relationship between the rite and music becomes obvious and tight.