Straipsnis „Dievo stalas“ XVI–XVII a. rašytinių šaltinių duomenimis

“Table of God” in the Written Sources of Lithuanians

  • Bibliographic Description: Rimantas Balsys, „Dievo stalas“ XVI–XVII a. rašytinių šaltinių duomenimis“, @eitis (lt), 2016, t. 500, ISSN 2424-421X.
  • Previous Edition: Rimantas Balsys, „Dievo stalas“ XVI–XVII a. rašytinių šaltinių duomenimis“, Logos, 2011, nr. 69, p. 150–162, ISSN 0868-7692.
  • Institutional Affiliation: Klaipėdos universitetas.

Summary. All over Lithuania, for Christmas Eve supper, traditionally and currently, hay or straw has been put under the tablecloth. Ethnologists, mythologists, and folklorists fail to agree about its origin or symbolic meaning. The data of the written sources from the 16th–17th c allow one to assume that the hay on the Christmas Eve table is a pre-Christian relic. In the 16th–17th c., the hay (straw) was used to place offerings for ancient gods. The hay (straw) that would become sacred during the ritual was used to boost the fertility of humans, animals, and crops. The custom survived till the late 20th c. In recent decades, the hay placed on the Christmas Eve table acquired some new symbolic meanings.

Keywords: Christmas Eve, hay, straw, gods, offering.

 
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