There are many ancient folk rituals around the world bound to the threshold between autumn and winter. Below, we’ve chosen to tell you about the one whispered in Latvia, Mārtiņi, and to linger on its symbols, its mystery and its quiet magic that starts welcoming the cold.
In ancient Latvia, there was a story told about a winter-welcoming holiday: Mārtiņi.
Whispers said it fell halfway between the light of autumn and the silence of winter, right in the middle of November, when the last fires still glowed in the fields and the wind began to carry the scent of snow.
Practically speaking, Mārtiņi was the moment when the time of shepherding came to an end.
According to the old solar calendar, it marked the turning point between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, when the land stood on the threshold between harvest and frost. It was the night that ended Veļu laiks (the Time of the Dead) and began Ledus laiks (the Time of Ice)
The Masked Wanderers
On this threshold between worlds, masked wanderers called Mārtiņbērni began going from house to house.Their wooden masks, shaped as horses, cranes or bears, were worn not to frighten but to protect and to bring luck. Cloaked in furs and feathers, they sang blessings for each home before the ice arrived.
In return, they were given bread, beer and the warmth of the hearth, all gifts that bound the living and the unseen in quiet gratitude. The better the fare offered, the better the hosts’ harvest would be in the coming year.
The Namesake of the Celebration
The night belonged to Mārtiņš, a mythical guardian tied to the waning of the sun and the quiet that settles over the fields when the farm work was done and the rivers began to freeze.
Old songs used to say his spirit rode across frozen rivers on a horse shaking snow from its mane, and that when the hoofprints vanished into the frost, the gates to the spirit world closed and winter began its reign.
Now, as Then
Today, Mārtiņi feels like a fairytale folded into the fabric of the season, a reminder to honour what has passed and to wrap ourselves in what remains, preparing for the winter ahead.Wool, linen and fur return like protective charms, carrying the old promise of warmth and endurance through the long night.
A season turns... The world holds its breath... And in the hush between spirits and ice, we find our strength again.