Searching for the ritual identity: the Lithuanian Midsummer feast

ENThis article deals with the evolution of the public St. John’s feast in Lithuania. The author starts with an analysis of the traditional St. Johns’ feast. A question is posed regarding what can be said about the feast from ethnographical sources? The following points will be discussed: The reasons of the growing popularity of the midsummer festivity at the beginning of the twentieth century throughout Lithuania; the forming of the folkloristic (and a bit later, neo-pagan) ritual model of the midsummer feast in the seventh decade of the twentieth century; and the conflict between the traditional and modern values in the present midsummer festival. The present research analysis of the traditional St. Johns’ feast is based on ethnographical sources collected and published by Jonas Balys (1992). The folkloristic and neo-pagan models of the midsummer feast are analyzed according to the author’s observations by participation conducted during 1982-1998. The presentday situation analysis is based on data collected by the author during 2004-2006, while the written scenario and video material comes from the Jonava cultural centre in general. Before analyzing the ritual identity of the midsummer feast, it should be stated that several different models of St. John’s feasts can be found in twentieth-century Lithuania. The first model would be the traditional feast of the peasant community; the second, the public model of the first half of the twentieth century, when the midsummer feast spread all over Lithuania, and finally, the folkloristic model of the midsummer feast that appeared at the very end of the seventh decade of the twentieth century. The latter model formed the basis of the neo-pagan ritual activity of the ‘Community of the Old Faith of the Balts,’ which developed in the last decade of the twentieth century. [p. 51].

• The Academic youth movement "Ramuva": from passive resistance to the "Community of the Old Faith of the Balts".. Baltic countries under occupation: Soviet and Nazi rule 1939-1991. Stockholm: Centre for Baltic Studies at the University of Stockholm, 2003. P. 357-364.
• Transformation of the masking custom: from ritual to town entertainment.. Ethnic culture: traditions and innovations. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas, 2004. P. 163-171.