Men's folk group "Vilkači" is performing an old traditional Latvian song of the Midsummer rite accompanied by traditional bagpipe tune.
Midsummer’s Festivities has been a very traditional holiday for Latvians for as long as anyone can remember. It is officially known as Jani and comes at the time when the night is the shortest and the day the longest. This year it falls in mid-week but it is an official holiday when no one works. The official dates are June 23 and June 24. The day before the Janu celebrations is called Zalu or Grass Day. In the afternoon on Ligo June 23rd women pick daisies from which to make wreaths which are worn by young and old alike. Little girls especially like wearing them. For the men, there are large wreaths made of oak leaves. The tradition of singing and dancing on Ligo night is concerned with fertility and warding off evil. If people have the possibility most of them spend this holiday in the countryside where they can celebrate uninhibited and light bonfires.
The celebration begins on Ligo night with the tradition of staying up all night until the next day which is traditionally Jani or John’s Day. Jani is a festival which began in ancient times and was celebrated in honor of a Latvian pagan deity Janis. Janis or John in English is one of the most common names given to Latvian males basically because of this celebration and that families are proud to have a Janis or John as a member of their own families. Even though most men wear oak crowns on their heads the proudest wearer is always a Janis as this day honours him. Jani is looked upon as the time when forces of nature are very powerful and at this time the boundaries between the physical world and the spiritual world start to intertwine. It was in ancient times that people believed that evil witches would ride around in the skies at this time and therefore people would decorate their houses with rowan branches and thorns to protect themselves from the broom riding witches. These days as tradition people still decorate but now the use birch or oak branches and flowers as well as leaves the most common being ferns. Not only do women wear daisy wreaths and men wear oak leave wreathes but in the countryside even cows get decorated.
More: medium.com/@rasmasandra/a-night-full-of-tradition-…

TRANSLATION OF THE LYRICS:
Johnny, take a black horse and ride around my rye field!
So that the enchanter would not jinx the rye, nor the envier would envy them
Johnny, take a black horse and ride around my rye field!
So that the enchanter would not jinx them, nor the envier would envy
Johnny, take a tall horse and ride around my farmland
Lift the sprouts up, trample the weeds to the ground
Johnny, ride where thou shall - ride to the cabbage patch
So that the cabbages would grow as big as Johnny's hat
Johnny, ride where thou shall - ride to the bean patch
To trample the thistles and nettles, to make my garden clean!

Singers: Andris Lejnieks, Edgars Zilberts, Eduards Krūmiņš, Jumis Ločmelis, Juris Tomašūns, Mārtiņš Puriņš, Reinis Zumbergs, Toms Grīnvalds