Lithuania 15 September: Moletai - Vilnius
We started the day with fire as always, but this time with some help from the ancient traditions of Lithuania. The rest of the day we were leap-frogging to Vilnius. We ended the day again with a ceremony of fire,
Fire is a very important element of the Pagan traditions of Lithuania.
The high "priest" receives the torch.
We are guided in the knowledge of the ancient traditions.
Ancient Lithuanians used the stars and fire to guide them, but we need the help of Vidas to make sure we go the right direction.
In the suburbs of Vilnius, members of a sportsclub were waiting for us and ran with us into the city centre.
It was raining, but that didn't stop our runners.
Thanks to all of you for coming to run with us!
We arrived altogether at the Parliament, where...
...Ambassadors and Members of Parliament welcomed us.
We passed the torch around, so that everybody could add a wish for friendship and harmony.
We were grateful to all Members of Parliament and Ambassadors who came out to meet us, even though it was raining cats and dogs.
In the evening we were invited to a special fire-ceremony with the members of Romuva, an ancient Lithuanian religious organisation. Candles were lit and the ensemble performed beautiful music and songs.
We offered a prayer for light, strength, health and power. We passed the bowl of kvas around while making a prayer for harmony and peace.
After the fire-ritual we spoke about our Run and the ideas of the founder of the run, Sri Chinmoy. And we sang a few songs for the members of Romuva.
After the music of the ensemble and our singing, our Lithuanian friend gave us a brief piano concert. What a musical end to the day!
Distance: 67 km
Team Members:
Apaguha Vesely (Czech Republic), Roos de Waart (Netherlands), Zoltan Theobald (Hungary), Vladimir Salnicov (Moldova), Chanakhya Jakovic (England), Pedja Knezevic (Serbia), Predrag Trkulja (Croatia), Sumahat Strohn (Germany), Florian Mesaritsch (Austria), Lenka Svecova (Czech Republic), Ieva Kurzemniece (Latvia), Andi Schmitz (Germany), Martins Kronbergs (Latvia), Lithuanian runners
Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.
Gallery: See more images!
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