In folksongs, Saule sinks into the bottom of a lake to sleep at night, in a silver cradle "in the white seafoam". In the Baltic folklore, Saulė is said to live in a silver gated castle at the end of the sea, located somewhere in the east, or to go to an island in the middle of the sea for her nocturnal rest. In a myth from Lithuania, a man named Joseph becomes fascinated with Aušrinė appearing in the sky and goes on a quest to find the "second sun", who is actually a maiden that lives on an island in the sea and has the same hair like the Sun. In Lithuania, the Sun (identified as female) rides a car towards her husband, the Moon, "dancing and emitting fiery sparks" on the way. Saulė is portrayed dancing in her gilded shoes on a silver hill and her fellow Baltic goddess Aušrinė is said to dance on a stone for the people on the first day of summer. Also in Latvian riddles and songs, Saule is associated with the color red as if to indicate the "fiery aspect" of the sun: the setting and the rising sun are equated with a rose wreath and a rose in bloom due to their circular shapes. In the Lithuanian tradition, the sun is also described as a "golden wheel" or a "golden circle" that rolls down the mountain at sunset. Saule is also described as being dressed in clothes woven with "threads of red, gold, silver and white". Other accounts ascribe her golden rings, golden ribbons, golden tassels, and even a golden crown. Saule is also said to own golden tools and garments: slippers, scarf, belt, and a golden boat she uses as her means of transportation. She is sometimes portrayed as waking up "red" ( sārta) or "in a red tree" during the morning. She is also depicted in a silver, gold or silk costume and wearing a sparkling crown. In Latvian folk songs, Saule and her daughter(s) are dressed of shawls woven with gold thread and Saule wears shoes of gold. Other celebrations took place around the equinoxes. Christianity absorbed Lithuanian Kūčios and Latvian Ziemassvētki into Christmas. The winter solstice is celebrated as the return of Saulė. It is the most joyous traditional holiday. Lithuanian Rasos (turned into Saint Jonas' Festival by Christianity) and Latvian Līgo (turned into Jāņi) involve making wreaths, looking for the magical fern flower, burning bonfires, dancing around and leaping over the fire, and greeting the Sun when it rises at around 4 am next morning. Saulė's feast was celebrated during the summer solstice. In the Lithuanian mythology, Saulė was mother of other planets: Indraja ( Jupiter), Sėlija ( Saturn), Žiezdrė ( Mars), Vaivora ( Mercury). Vakarinė (the evening star) makes the bed for Saulė in the evening. Aušrinė lights the fire for Saulė and makes her ready for another day's journey across the sky. In other myths, Aušrinė is depicted as a daughter and servant of Saulė. A third version claims that the face of Mėnuo was disfigured by either Dievas (the supreme god) or Saulė. That is why the Sun shines during the day, while the Moon visits at night. Another version claims that Mėnuo and Saulė divorced, but both wanted to see their daughter Žemyna (earth). One version has it that Mėnuo was cut into two pieces, but he did not learn from his mistakes and thus the punishment is repeated every month. There are different accounts of the punishment. For his infidelity, Perkūnas (thunder god) punished Mėnuo. Mėnuo fell in love with Aušrinė (the morning star or Venus). Saulė and Mėnuo/ Mēness (the Moon) were wife and husband. Family Ī circa 1912 painting by Janis Rozentāls depicting the daughters of Saule ( Saules meitas) Jerome swore that he personally witnessed the hammer, venerated by the locals. She was held in a tower by a powerful king and rescued by the zodiac using a giant sledgehammer. 1369–1440) spent three years attempting to Christianize Lithuania and later recounted a myth about the kidnapped Saulė. According to the Slavic translation of the Chronicle by John Malalas (1261), a smith named Teliavelis made the Sun and threw it into the sky. Saulė is mentioned in one of the earliest written sources on Lithuanian mythology. The Lithuanian and Latvian words for "the world" ( pasaulis and pasaule) are translated as " under the Sun". She is the patroness of the unfortunate, especially orphans. Saulė is one of the most powerful deities, the goddess of the sun itself, responsible for all life on Earth.
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