Transformations in Midsummer’s Eve Celebrations in Soviet and Post-Soviet Latvia

• Published in: Slovenský národopis Vol. 71; no. 4; pp. 319 - 341
• Main Authors: Kačāne, Ilze, Kovzele, Oksana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bratislava SAV - Slovenská akadémia vied - Ústav etnológie a sociálnej antropológie Slovenskej akadémie vied 01.01.2023; SAS - Slovak Academy of Sciences - Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology; Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ethnology
• Subjects: Commercialization; Cultural heritage; Cultural history; Cultural identity; Culture; Customs / Folklore; Ethnic identity; Families & family life; Fertility; Festivals; Globalization; Holidays & special occasions; Post-War period (1950 - 1989); Qualitative research; Social factors; Sociology of Culture; Summer solstice; Traditions; Transformation Period (1990 - 2010); Latvia; qualitative study; festivals; Midsummer’s Eve; transformation
• ISSN: 1335-1303; 1339-9357; 1339-9357
• DOI: 10.31577/SN.2023.4.32

Celebrations are constantly exposed to gradual transformation processes promoted by diverse historical, political and social factors. This qualitative study is based on data from semi-structured interviews conducted in the southeastern region of Latvia, Latgale. It analyses transformations in the celebration of the summer solstice festival –Midsummer’s Eve (Jāņi) – from the synchronic (at a specific point in time) and diachronic (through different periods in history) perspectives: during the Soviet period from the 1940s to 1980s, and from the late 1980s in the frame of “national awakening” and current trends of globalisation. A form of Latvian pagan heritage involving traditions such as singing, dancing, searching for a fern flower, fortune telling, lighting a bonfire and waiting for sunrise, the festival has remained functional throughout the Christian era. From the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia (1918) until 1940, it continued to be fundamental for the construction and preservation of Latvian national and ethnic identity. Under the Soviet occupation (1940–1941; 1944/45–1990), the festival underwent damaging transformations and was used as a political and ideological tool of Sovietisation and Russification. Midsummer’s Eve is still widely celebrated today; however, the imprint of “new” Soviet traditions and modern-day commercialisation manifests itself as alienation from ancient traditions and results in simplified perceptions of celebration and kitsch performances.