- Category
- Nature and folklore
- Reading time
- 8 min.
- Sources
- Selection from six publications, with individual source locations
Words and examples
Showing: 40
Plants
Birch leafs from the top
A wet summer was expected.
Source · p. 108, note 516
#Animals
Anthill on a hummock
A wet summer was expected.
Source · p. 108, note 516
#Animals
Anthill openings face south
A cold summer was expected.
Source · p. 108, note 516
#Home
Cured meat turns damp
Rain was expected within three days.
Source · p. 108, note 517
#Sky
Rainbow: the rain variant
Rain was expected on day three.
Source · p. 108, note 520
#Sky
Rainbow: the fair-weather variant
Fine weather was expected.
Source · p. 108, note 521
#Calendar days
Snow at Shrovetide
Snow at Easter was expected.
Source · p. 3, reference [4]
#Calendar days
Dry Shrovetide
A dry spring was expected.
Source · p. 3, reference [14]
#Plants
Cones near the spruce top
A drier summer was expected.
Source · p. 4, reference [8]
#Calendar days
Easter northerly wind
A cold summer was expected.
Source · p. 4, reference [9]
#Calendar days
Easter wind direction
It was expected to persist until Pentecost.
Source · p. 4, reference [24]
#Calendar days
Fine weather in Holy Week
A fine autumn was expected.
Source · p. 4, reference [12]
#Sky
Distant forest looks blue
A thaw was expected.
Source · Winter (ŽIEMA): distant forest
#Home
Smoke rises vertically
Clear, cold weather was expected.
Source · Winter (ŽIEMA): chimney smoke
#Animals
Crows in treetops
Severe frost was expected.
Source · Winter (ŽIEMA): crows in treetops
#Animals
Loudly cawing crows
A blizzard was expected.
Source · Winter (ŽIEMA): loudly calling crows
#Plants
Abundant sallow catkins
A rainy summer was expected.
Source · Spring (PAVASARIS): sallow
#Plants
Rowan flowers profusely
A wet autumn was expected.
Source · Spring (PAVASARIS): rowan
#Plants
Strong lilac scent
Rain was expected.
Source · Spring (PAVASARIS): lilac
#Plants
Oak leafs before ash
A dry summer was expected.
Source · Spring (PAVASARIS): oak and ash
#Plants
Abundant birch sap
A rainy summer was expected.
Source · Spring (PAVASARIS): birch sap
#Animals
Many cockchafers in May
Drought was expected.
Source · Spring (PAVASARIS): cockchafers
#Seasons
Early November snow
Winter was expected a month later.
Source · Paragraph on the first November snow
#Seasons
Rainy November
A snowy winter was expected.
Source · Paragraph on rainy November
#Seasons
Raw November weather
A milder winter was expected.
Source · Paragraph on chilly November
#Plants
Birch retains top leaves
Severe winter frost was not expected.
Source · Paragraph on leaves remaining at the top of birch trees
#Animals
Geese fly low
More rain was expected.
Source · Paragraph on low-flying geese
#Animals
Swans fly low
Snow was expected soon.
Source · Paragraph on low-flying swans
#Calendar days
Snow on St Andrew’s Day
Good legume harvests were expected.
Source · St Andrew’s Day paragraph: snow
#Calendar days
Cold St Andrew’s Day
A hot summer was expected.
Source · St Andrew’s Day paragraph: cold
#Calendar days
Rye green in January
A poor harvest was expected.
Source · Prusiszkos kalendros (1897): rye in January
#Seasons
Abundant snow
Abundant hay was expected.
Source · Prusiszkos kalendros (1897): snow and hay
#Animals
February mosquitoes above manure
More fodder was considered necessary.
Source · Prusiszkos kalendros (1897): February mosquitoes
#Seasons
Snowless February
Loss of young crops was feared.
Source · Jagomastas almanacs (1930–1939): February
#Seasons
March wind, April rain
A good harvest was expected.
Source · Jagomastas almanacs (1930–1939): March and April
#Sky
Rain before sunrise
Fine weather was expected.
Source · Kalendros ant meto 1875: rain before sunrise
#Animals
Owl calls in the evening
Fine weather was expected.
Source · Kalendros ant meto 1875: owls
#Animals
Spiders weave at night
Fine weather was expected.
Source · Kalendros ant meto 1875: spiders
#Calendar days
White Christmas
A green Easter was expected.
Source · Passage comparing Christmas snow with Easter greenery
#Calendar days
Christmas hoarfrost without severe cold
A wet, stormy summer was expected.
Source · Passage on Christmas hoarfrost
#No entries match this search.
Reading these 40 entries
Each entry separates an observed sign from the expectation attached to it. The wording is an editorial paraphrase, not a verbatim dialect transcription. Every record provides a source and a page, note or identifiable passage. Original Lithuanian headings and publication titles are retained where they help locate the passage.
The collection documents cultural history; it does not validate a forecasting method. “Was expected” deliberately identifies a belief. We assign no accuracy scores and do not present these observations as present-day instructions for work, travel or safety.
Why a sign can have two different meanings
Page 108 of the Kaišiadorys museum publication associates a rainbow both with rain and with fine weather, under different source notes. Both versions remain in this collection. Combining them into one supposedly correct folk rule would erase evidence of variation.
Compare the time horizon as well as the sign: tomorrow, the third day, an entire summer and a future harvest are different claims. A contradiction in a source is a reason to investigate, not silently delete a version.
How close is each publication to the original record?
The Kaišiadorys book and the Pilviškiai study identify informants or earlier records. The educational resource offers a general compilation. The LRT article is an ethnologist’s commentary, and the Vilnius Ethnic Culture Centre page is a thematic introduction. Their evidence is not interchangeable.
The Encyclopedia of Lithuania Minor quotes historical almanacs. Our link leads to the encyclopedia article where we consulted those examples; we do not claim to have examined every nineteenth- or twentieth-century original. The almanac title and year in the locator help readers continue the search.
A local-history exercise
Choose three signs from different groups. Compare the source type, predicted timespan and whether a locality is named. When collecting a family memory, obtain consent and record the date and exact wording, keeping your interpretation separate.
One account can add to a local history without establishing what an entire region believed. A prediction matching an outcome does not by itself demonstrate a causal connection.
