Birds and Animals
The White Stork (gandras) was declared the national bird of Lithuania in 1973. Lithuanians believe that storks bring harmony to the families on whose property they nest; they have also kept up the tradition of telling their children that storks bring babies. Stork Day is celebrated on March 25 with various archaic rituals: gifts for children, attributed to the storks, such as fruits, chocolates, pencils, and dyed eggs, are hung on tree branches and fences; snakes are caught, killed and buried under the doorstep; straw fires are lit. Notably, Lithuania is a beneficial and important habitat for these birds: it has the highest known nesting density in the world.
Other birds of note are the common cuckoo (gegutė) - its call is said to sweep away the last traces of winter, and the month of May (gegužės mėnuo) is named for this bird. The rock pigeon (balandis) is commemorated in the month of April (balandžio mėnuo).
Lithuania's special animals include the aurochs, the elk, the wolf (vilkas), and the bear (lokys). According to a popular legend, an iron wolf in Gediminas' dream encouraged the Grand Duke to establish Vilnius and make the city his capital. The Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade (motorizuotoji pėstininkų brigada 'Geležinis vilkas') is now the core unit of the Lithuanian Army. The bear is an ancient symbol of Samogitia, one of the regions of Lithuania, and appears in the coat of arms of Šiauliai district. An elk is shown in the Lazdijai district municipality coat of arms and the aurochs is featured in the Kaunas coat of arms.
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The white stork
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The Coat of Arms of Samogitia
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The Coat of Arms of Šiauliai District
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The Coat of Arms of Lazdijai
Read more about this topic: National Symbols Of Lithuania
Famous quotes containing the words birds and/or animals:
“Chaucer is fresh and modern still, and no dust settles on his true passages. It lightens along the line, and we are reminded that flowers have bloomed, and birds sung, and hearts beaten in England. Before the earnest gaze of the reader, the rust and moss of time gradually drop off, and the original green life is revealed. He was a homely and domestic man, and did breathe quite as modern men do.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Why do precisely these objects which we behold make a world? Why has man just these species of animals for his neighbors; as if nothing but a mouse could have filled this crevice?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)