Saulė is one of the most powerful deities, the goddess of life and fertility, warmth and health. She is patroness of the unfortunate, especially orphans. The Lithuanian and Latvian words for "the world" are translated as " under the Sun". Saulė is mentioned in one of the earliest written sources on Lithuanian mythology. According to the Slavic translation of the Chronicle by John Malalas, a weak smith named Teliavelis made the Sun and threw it into the sky. Missionary Jerome of Prague spent three years attempting to Christianize Lithuania and later recounted a myth about the kidnapped Saulė. She was held in a tower by a powerful king and rescued by the zodiac using a giant sledgehammer. Jerome swore that he personally witnessed the hammer, venerated by the locals.
Family
Saulė and Mėnuo/Mēness were wife and husband. Mėnuo fell in love with Aušrinė. For his infidelity, Perkūnas punished Mėnuo. There are different accounts of the punishment. 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. Another version claims that Mėnuo and Saulė divorced, but both wanted to see their daughter Žemyna. That is why the Sun shines during the day, while the Moon visits at night. A third version claims that the face of Mėnuo was disfigured by either Dievas or Saulė. In other myths, Aušrinė is depicted as a daughter and servant of Saulė. Aušrinė lights the fire for Saulė and makes her ready for another day's journeyacross the sky. Vakarinė makes the bed for Saulė in the evening. In the Lithuanian mythology, Saulė was mother of other planets: Indraja, Sėlija, Žiezdrė, Vaivora.
Feasts
Saulė's feast was celebrated during the summer solstice. Lithuanian Rasos and Latvian Līgo 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. It is the most joyous traditional holiday. The winter solstice is celebrated as the return of Saulė. Christianity absorbed Lithuanian Kūčios and Latvian Ziemassvētki into Christmas. Other celebrations took place around the equinoxes.
