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Lithuanian Ethnoastronomy

4. The Sun and the Weather

The weather was told by the rising and more often by the setting of Sun. It was often said that if the sun sets into the cloud, then tomorrow might rain. If the Sun sets red or the sky is red then it will be windy, if the sun was yellow it will be rainy, if it sets white and clear it will be sunny. When the rays of the setting Sun would go upwards good weather was expected, if the Sun would let its rays down it could be rainy (Miškelienė, Lazdijai region, 1992). In Mištūnai area the rays of the Sun going down would be called the Sun's braids: "Jau bus lietaus, jau Saulė kasas palaido in žemį‘‘ (The rain will come, the Sun is letting her braids down)(LKAR 2/11,12, 113/). In Saugai the rays were referred to as streaks of hair (sruogomis, drūžėmis): ‘’If the Sun sets in the West and these streaks of Sun appear then return from the sea and if the streaks are in the morning then the waters will go down’’; ‘’The Sun pulls the water. When these streaks would appear then people would say that the Sun will draw water and there will be rain’’ (Vaiškūnas 1995). If the Sun was surrounded by a bright halo (people would say that the Sun is fenced in) or if the halo were of a more complicated structure similar to the rainbows on the one or both sides of the Sun (In Punskas area they were called ‘‘pasauliniai’‘ or ‘‘saulinyčiai’’) the rain was expected. If on the both sides of the Sun there appeared reflections and it would seem that there shine three Suns the change of weather was expected (Gudelis, Rastenienė, Ignalina region, 1988), or war. If the Sun would be accompanied by the so called pillars (stulpai), ‘’Saulės stulpai’‘ (the pillars of the Sun), ’‘saulabroliai’‘ (the brothers of the Sun), ‘‘saulynai, atspinduliai’‘ (reflections), ‘‘Saulės pusbroliai’‘ (the cousins of the Sun) in winter and in autumn cold was expected, and in spring - frosts, and in summer heat. It is also said that these pillars appear before great disasters, famine, and plague, especially before the wars (Balys 1951, 8). It is really determined that the pillars of the light is one of the Sun halo shapes and they are related to the anticyclone weather in winter, which brings great colds.

 

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