Meteņi

In Livonian populated regions and Riga, this celebration is known as Fastelavn (possibly originating from German Fastnacht - hunger night).

Elsewhere in Europe and America, this festival coincides with the carnival time and referred to as Shrove Tuesday (French: Mardi Gras, German: Fastnachtsdienstag, Italian: Martedì grasso, English: Shrove Tuesday [citation needed]) or "Pancake Day".

[1] In Latin countries, it is called carnival, carnaval or "meat balls", and it is the holiday of overeating, after which comes Lent.

To bid a farewell to Winter, they burned a year-old allegorical serpent or dragon, straw dolls, and logs, whose ashes are spread across the land so that the New Year would be fruitful.

The Solstice bonfire is burned while performing rituals of tying a witch's tongue and donations.

Meteņi ķekatas mask group of Zemgale and Kurzeme called Budēļi, Buduļi or Būduļi. [ 2 ]