Rasos Festival in Kernavė

When the sun reaches its highest point and nature is at its most vibrant, you are invited to the traditional Rasos (Midsummer) Festival in Kernavė.

Kernavė is the place where Rasos celebrations have been held according to ancient Baltic traditions since 1967, based on historical, ethnographic, and folklore sources. The festival became an important symbol of Lithuania’s cultural revival, inspiring the folklore movement, national identity, and spiritual resistance.

Ancient rituals, divinations, songs, dances, and games come alive here not as echoes of the past, but as a living communal experience. Visitors are encouraged not only to watch, but to participate, experience, and rediscover themselves through traditional customs alongside folklore ensembles and traditional folk bands.

This is a living midsummer celebration that brings together people and nature.

Program

12:00

• Craft, folk art, and traditional food fair (Kernavė town avenue)
• Visit the photography exhibition “The Secret of the Shortest Night” by photographer Vytautas Daraškevičius (Kernavė wooden chapel)

At the hillforts of the Kernavė Archaeological Site and Pajauta Valley

• 17:00 Herbal gathering with a herbalist in Pajauta Valley
• 19:00 Wreath-making, herbal fortune-telling, and tea on Pilies Hill
• 19:45 Festive procession of folklore ensembles through Kernavė town
• 20:00 Ceremonial gates opening at the foot of Pilies Hill
• 20:20 Ritual circle dances, games, and folklore performances
• 21:40 Sunset ceremony
• 22:20 Sacred fire lighting ceremony
• 23:00 Lighting of the Great Bonfire and traditional fire wheels on the hillforts
• 23:20 Night dances
• 00:00 Floating flower wreaths on the Neris River, riverside bonfire, and folklore concerts
• 03:00 Bonfire jumping ritual
• 04:30 Sunrise greeting ceremony and washing in the morning dew on Mindaugas Throne Hillfort and Pajauta Valley

The event is organized by the Širvintos District Cultural Centre and its Kernavė branch, with support from the Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Širvintos District Municipality.