Monday, June 27, 2011
Liigo! Liigo!
Yesterday the small but boisterous Latvian community in Nova Scotia celebrated the Latvian midsummer festival known as "Janji".
We gathered at a country home near Canning, Nova Scotia to meet friends, to eat, drink, sing Latvian folk songs, and make merry. This festival always takes place in the countryside and celebrates the midsummer solstice as well as all men named "Janis" (the Latvian equivalent of "John"). It is the most joyous of gatherings, filled with many traditions dating back to ancient times.
A central activity is the making and wearing of floral wreaths called "vainagi". Women wear a headdress made of field flowers:
Each result is unique and stunning and carries the signature of the maker. Here Hannah shows how she likes to mix it up with grasses and different drooping shapes:
Even the men get to wear a crown, made of oak leaves, signifying the maleness of the oak tree.
One of these days I'll try to make a Latvian vainags, all with knitted flowers, leaves, and grasses. One of these days....
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