Autumn in LithuaniaAutumn in Lithuania

Šilutės r. Katyčių pagrindinė mokyklaThe Seasons

Comenius Multilateral Project 2013 – 2015

One of the nicest things about living in Lithuania is ever changing seasons.

The end of summer signifies the arrival of autumn.

It means misty mornings, shorter days, the spider webs and the changing of colours around you.

A gentle decline from the summer intensity comes with autumn.

Autumn is that time when we start wearing our coats, scarves, warm socks and gloves. An umbrella becomes a necessary thing, as well.

But when there is the beginning of autumn?

It is said, that autumn begins on the equinox day (September 22nd – 23rd), when the day and the night become equal in length .

But for many of us this season may begin on a different day, that fits the way we live.

In Lithuania autumn is the time from the first day of September to the last day of November.

The first day of autumn clashes with the first day of September for students and their parents because the

Lithuanian schools traditionally celebrate the beginning of the new school year on September 1.

In autumn the days become shorter and nights - longer. As a part of the daylight saving time we change our clocks one hour back in the

end of October.

This also contributes to the feeling of a shorter day. While the mornings are brighter, the afternoons seem to get dark much

earlier.

The climate of Lithuania can be described as a typical European continental climate with warm dry summers and cold

winters.

In autumn the weather changes all the time.

In September the average temperature is about +12 C.

Autumn frosts frequently decorate fields and gardens in white. They are gentle from 0 to -2 C over the surface of the soil. But sometimes

the weather gets cooler to – 3 – 6 C. It oftens drizzles lightly but obtrusively.

In October the days and nights are often cloudy and misty, especially in late October.The average temperature is about +6 -

+8 C.

Usually, there is one warm and sunny week in October. It is called the Indian summer.

The temperature can rise up to +20 C. The spider webs strech everywhere then. Dew or gentle frost cover the grass and soil in

the mornings. But the Indian summer doesn‘t visit Lithuania every year and October can be rather cold with sleet and snow.

In November the nature gets grey and brown shades, which are typical for winter. This month brings us strong winds, rain, sleet and snow.

The average temperature is +1 - +5 C. But sometimes November looks like winter.

A dahlia is the main autumn flower in Lithuania. It comes in numerous colours, colour combinations, shapes and sizes.

And, of course, a chrisanthemum blooms in autumn, too.

There grow the deciduous and ever green trees and bushes in Lithuania.

The most common deciduous trees are oaks, birches, limes, ashes, maples and chestnuts.

They all change the colours of their foliage and shed the leaves in autumn.

The golden autumn foliage is a spectacular scenery for everyone.

Sunny, bright days and cool nights is the best weather to colour the leaves in yellow, red, orange and brown.

The leaves fall off their branches, flowing down through the air to rest on the ground.

Dozens of fallen leaves cover the ground as a carpet.

As you watch the leaves falling, you can see the seasons change right in front of your eyes. Not many sėasons give that gift

If the days are bleak and cloudy and the nights are warm, the colours of autumn are more pale

It is the worst when the days are rainy and windy. Then the leaves are torn off the trees. They fall on the ground without changing their

colour.

The rowans are especially beautiful in autumn.When the winds tear off the leaves of the trees, red rowans blaze in the fields and forests.

The rowan berries is the perfect food for birds. It is believed, if there are a lot of rowan berries on the trees, winter will be cold and snowy.

In the middle of September the chestnuts start falling off the trees.

They do so after the shells of the nuts turn brown. It is thought that keeping a chestnut in your pocket brings you a bit of luck.

Autumn is always a busy and ,,tasty“ time because of the harvest.

In September the farmers cut their crops to prepare them for the storage or selling. They also get their fields ready for spring.

September is a time when the farmers plant winter wheat and rye. They grow until it gets cold. Then they go dormant, which means

they stop growing until spring, when they start growing again.

September is also that time when potatoes, carrots, red beet roots, cabbage and tomatoes are harvested,

and apples, plums and pears are gathered in.

Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables in Lithuania. Usually, every farm grows potatoes. They are called the Lithuanian second bread and are used for

food almost every day.

Potatoes are harvested in September. Even though there are machines to do all harvesting work, some Lithuanian farmers still prefer manual work,

especially in small villages.

In autumn one of the Lithuanian favourite pastimes is the mushroom gathering. It is a form of relaxation, a gastronomic obsession and an economic opportunity.

The mushroom gathering begins in July and often lasts until the end of October.

Lithuania is the home to an impressive number of species of birds that vary from the residents, that stay all year round to the breeding birds that spend a big part of the growing season in Lithuania to raise their young and the migrants, which pass

across Lithuania with the seasons.

The most common resident birds are crows, sparrows and tits. People, especially students, make the bird feeders for sparrows and tits in the

end of autumn.

A white stork, a breeding bird, is a national bird of our country.

Lithuania has the highest density of the white stork population in Europe with 13 000 pairs. That is why Lithuania is known as the Land of Storks. When these birds raise up their chicks in Lithuania, they move southwards across the whole continent.

August 24th is the stork leaving day. It means that autumn comes.

In the middle of September the corncrakes leave Lithuania. These birds are nearly extinct in the Western Europe but are common in the

Lithuanian fields.

A corncrake lives more differently than many of other birds. It tries to be invisible. It is quite impossible to see a flying corncrake. It flies almost only at nights.

Every year the myriads of birds migrate across Lithuania. The maximum intensity of the autumn migration occurs in the end of August and in

September when geese, ducks, cranes and finches migrate.

During October the migration weakens in intensity and by the first days of November it ceases down.

A harvest festival is an annual event that is celebrated in the end of September. It is associated with the end of works in the fields and gardens

and is often called “Dagos“ or “Dagotuvės“.

The fair takes place at the time of the harvest celebration. The farmers bring autumn goodies and their own products produced on their farms such as cheese, bread, cakes etc. The folk groups give performances and concerts.

All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls' Day (November 2nd) are held in Lithuania.

Since the ancient times, Lithuanians have believed that after the death, the soul separates from the body and continues existing among

the living ones.

The ritual traditions of the dead were directly related to the people belief that the souls of the dead returned to the earth and to their homes on that day. Therefore, the souls of the dead were graciously treated according

to the rituals of the ancestors.

During these days people still gather in cemeteries. They pray, light up the candles on the graves of their dead relatives and decorate the graves with

flowers and plants.

Earlier women used to prepare plentiful dinner for that occasion even to eat it at cemetries. Dinner could also be prepared at home.

After returning from the cemetery, father gathered the family around the table and recited this prayer: " Dear souls of the dead, you are still

remembered by the members of my family, you are the most worthy of our perpetual remembrance, especially you, my grandparents, my parents, also

our relatives, children and everyone whom the death took away from our home. I invite you to this annual feast. We wish that this feast is agreeable

to you, just like the memory of all of you, is to us ''. After a short silence, father asked everyone to sit at the table and eat. The food was eaten in

silence.

Now the All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Vėlinės) is an occasion to remember the deceased. It is thought to bring their spirits nearer and to form the bond between the living and the

dead.

There are a few beliefs of the All Souls' and All Saints' Days:

On the day of All Souls, the souls of the dead come to visit the living, asking that the living would pray for them. 

On the All Souls' Day churches are filled with the souls of the dead. On that day, the souls do not burn in the hell. They are happy. However, some souls, which mothers wail, arrive wet and soaked by the earthly tears. They suffer a lot. So, there is no need to cry for the dead. On the All Souls' Day and in the evening no ashes or garbage should be taken out, because the souls can be witched by these items.

If it rains on the night of the All Souls' Day, there will be numerous deaths the coming year.

If the sun does not shine on the All Saints' Day, the coming year will be filled with misfortunes.

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