Months of the Year in Lithuanian

Upon closer examination, the names given to the months of the year by English-speaking, Germanic or some other nations are derived from the names of ancient gods or Roman emperors. The names of the months in Lithuanian are unique and original. The months of an agricultural nation are named after natural phenomena or tasks performed at a particular time of the year. These names are typical of the Lithuanian nation, her nature and the Lithuanian way of life.

The months of the year in Lithuanian can be explained as follows.

Sausis (January) - the first month of the year. At this time of the year, Lithuania is in the grip of a profound winter. All of nature is covered with a thick blanket of snow. Rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and bogs are under ice. No open water can be found anywhere. If it snows, the snow is fine, dry ("sausas"), blown by the wind. The snow does not come down in wet, heavy, slushy flakes. In other words, it is dry ("sausa") in Lithuania at this time of the year, and therefore the month has been named "sausis."

Vasaris (February) - The winter is coming to an end. People are beginning to make plans for summer ("vasara") tasks, to think about the summer. During this month, the first thaws begin: the sun shines more brightly at midday, water begins to drip from the roof and toward evening stretches into gleaming "ice candles" - icicles. Sled tracks rut smooth roads. Everyone feels that though spring has not yet arrived the weather is turning toward spring, toward summer.

Kovas (March) - a time of change, of struggle ("kova") between the cold and spring. One day it's snowing, the next it's freezing, the following day the weather again turns warmer. Hilltops begin to darken for the snow melts there the quickest. Some birds return, among them the rook. The rook (kovas) belongs to the crow family (Corvus frugilegus). It is a large black bird with a blue and purple sheen to the plumage. They circle above the treetops settle on the fields in scores to march about in search of food. The air is filled by a chorus of caws and croaks as the rooks court, build their nests and mate. The cawing proclaims that spring has nearly arrived. It can thus be said that the month derives its name from two sources: the winter's battle (kova) with spring and the returning of the rook (kovas).

Balandis (April) is already a spring month. Doves ("balandis") coo and mate on the farm and the cooing of wild doves can be heard in the slowly greening countryside. Other songbirds have yet to return, so the dove's soft cooing is not yet drowned out by the magnificent songbirds.

Geguzis (May) is the most beautiful month in Lithuania. Everything is sprouting, blooming and verdant. In the forest the call of the cuckoo (gegute or geguze) is heard. The bird is cherished by Lithuanians and gives the month its name.

The cuckoo is a mysterious and magic bird. It is the harbinger of true spring. Until the cuckoo's call is heard, venturing outdoors in bare feet is dangerous even if the weather is warm because the earth underneath is still frozen and can cause ailments. The cuckoo's call dispels the last vestige of winter and ensures the cold is gone for good.

The cuckoo's first call determines a person's fortune for that year. Upon hearing the cuckoo for the first time, a person frets whether he has money on his person. If he does, he'll have money all year, things will go well; if he has no money, his pockets will be empty all year long, the wind will blow right through them. It is very good to be carrying a full bucket, basket or bag when hearing the first call of the cuckoo. You will then be wealthy (full of everything) the entire year. It is also to one's advantage to be in a happy mood when the cuckoo's first call is heard. A frowning, unhappy person is condemned to live in a foul mood all year.

When a person hears the cuckoo's first "coo-coo" he or she may ask: "How many years will I live? In how many years (months) will I wed?" The answer is the number of times the cuckoo calls after the question. Upon hearing the cuckoo's first call, a young woman walks backwards until she backs into a tree. She must then break a small bough from the tree and pluck it clean until it looks like a hook. With this hook she can "catch" the young man she prefers.

If the first cuckoo is heard in the company of a large group, the year will be happy, many dances, weddings and parties will be attended. If the cuckoo happens to call from the tree under which a person is seated, it is a bad sign, the year will be difficult. If this befalls an unmarried girl, she will bear an illegitimate child.

This is but a small sampling of the beliefs related to the cuckoo's return and call. It shows that the cuckoo was a favorite bird. It is thus not surprising that the spring's most beautiful month is named after the cuckoo.

Birzelis (June) - The month derives its name from the newly budded birch ("berzas") which is a symbol of the miraculously restored nature, youth and fertility. Homes, farms and animals are decorated with birch branches not only at Pentecost but for other occasions as well. The custom survives from pagan times.

Liepa (July) - In the heat of the summer the air is redolent with linden ("liepa") blossoms and resounds with the buzzing of bees as they gather clear golden honey. Lithuanians are known as beekeepers and the linden is a decorative tree favored in villages and forests. The name of this month is thus very significant and appropriate.

Rugpjutis (August) is a time of toil. Because rye ("rugiai") was Lithuania's major grain crop and life without daily rye bread was inconceivable, the harvest month is named after the cutting (pjauti) of the rye (in years gone by, rye was cut with sickles), thereby the name of the month "rugpjutis"- month for cutting the rye.

Rugsejis (September) is also related to the cultivation of rye. Because rye is a winter grain, the fields are prepared in the fall when the seeds are sown. The rye germinates and sprouts before the first frost and then hibernates under a thick blanket of snow. Early in the spring it revives and begins to grow vigorously. Lithuania is a northern country where the summers are relatively short, therefore certain cultivated plants cannot be grown to maturity during the summer and must be sown in the fall.

Spalis (October) - This name is difficult to understand for those who have distanced themselves from farm work. Besides rye, flax was a vital crop for the Lithuanian farmer. It was used not only to make the cloth the family needed, but was also sold as a cash crop to buy the necessary articles the land could not produce. Lithuania's flax was of a high quality. During the years of independence flax was exported to distant foreign lands, thus producing income for both farmers and the state. The name "spalis" is related to flax processing which was done in the fall. The fiber from which linen thread is made is encased in the stem of the flax plant. The stem is covered with a hard material similar to bent- grass or wheat straw. The stem must be broken to remove the fiber. The hard shell crumbles and the fiber can then be processed further. The crumbled particles of the flax stem are called strives ("spaliai"). Sometimes the strives were used as insulation and poured over the ceilings of houses under construction, but mostly they were dispersed, buried into the ground to rot.

Lapkritis (November) is the late autumn month whose name is derived from the falling of leaves ("lapu" kritimas") and the onset of frost. November is usually cold, wet and muddy. The sun makes only rare appearances and the days are mostly gloomy. The nights are especially dark, suited for get-togethers and the telling of horror stories. In Lithuania, All Soul's Day is celebrated at the beginning of November.

Gruodis (December). The rains of autumn and the mud finally end. The ground freezes with the cold, it becomes hard and coarse. Every clod of soil hardens, ice covers the puddles. Country roads, a mire of mud in the fall, are now bumpy and lumpy, wheels shake and jump as they turn unevenly. Soil that has frozen into such lumps is called "gruodas". Hence the month's name.

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Since we have stopped to examine the Lithuanian names for the months, we must not pass over the days of the week with their distinct names typical of Lithuanians. Because the week has seven days, they are named after the sequence of the days: the first ("pirma") day ("diena") of the week is called "pirmadienis", the second ("antra") - "antradienis" then "treciadienis",   "ketvirtadienis", "penktadienis" and "sestadienis" (Saturday). The name of the seventh day is perhaps somewhat unusual for instead of "septintadienis" we have "sekmadienis". The word "sekmas" is an old form of the word "septintas" (seventh). Sekmadienis is derived from the old word because the word septintadienis (literally - the seventh day) sounds a little awkward and does not fit in with the pronunciation of the other days of the week.