Vilnius Ethnic Culture Centre

On 20 March, the seasons of darkness and lightness will collide and the duration of night and day will become equal. The Spring Equinox will mark the start of the astronomical spring. On this occasion residents of Vilnius are invited to come out of the stillness of winter and through the gates of spring step into the "Equinox Gardens" that will have grown in the Šventaragis Valley.

Each year we celebrate Autumn Equinox, emphasizing the end of the warm season and the transition to the cold one. It is a well-known custom since the ancient times to offer deities at this time of year for a ripe harvest, emphasizing the importance of boundaries between different climatic conditions.

Autumn Equinox starts the new period of time when according Lithuanian traditional culture the world of the dead gets closer to people, and the time of being calm, concentrated and rested starts. The fire, symbolically burning on the mountains, descends and returns to the fireplace of the home, where it will be sheltered until the equinox of spring - the return of the warm season. From the Autumn Equinox people turn back to their inner world, the wisdom of their ancestors, their relations to the manifestations of the higher and deeper realms.

The equinox takes place every year on September 20-22, when the day equates to night. During this period, a great number of carnivals, dances, and eye-catching spectacles is happening around the world. It is accompanied by fireworks, natural fire shows, and autumn goods’ fairs.

This year the celebration of Autumn Equinox will take place on 20^th of September, 8 PM. A visual one-hour event will gather spectators in the center of Vilnius on the embankment of Neris river near King Mindaugas’ Bridge. The mystery is going to happen - a dialogue of fire and time, which gives a meaning for the fading Sun's farewell into the darkness and resting period. We will thank the Sun for her gifts of light, warmth and harvest by burning special Sun sculptures. The idea of the event will be unfolded in three actions, at the multidimensional Neris river space. Baltic mythological signs made of candles will be lighted up on

Celebrate the Spring Equinox at Šventaragis Valley on March 20^_th at 20.00.
It is traditional event to mark a mystical time when a day equals a night. Come and take a quiet walk exploring Baltic signs lit up at valley by Vilnius schoolchildren. Enjoy the subtle sound of Lithuanian multipart songs Sutartinės.

Let us greet the spring by celebrating the Spring Equinox!

The event will take place at Šventaragis Valley on March 20th at 19.00.