The festival of Lieldienas is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. The name itself (lit. Big day) conveys the cause for the celebration: on this day the light of the day begins to gain over the darkness of the night. Lieldienas is a festival that consists of a three-day unit (four days in a Leap Years): the first day is celebrated on Sunday and the additional two (or three) days are left outside the 8 x 45-day system of accounting (see p. 29). Lieldienas is personified by three (or four) sisters, denoting the number of days of this festival. These sisters are not directly identified by proper names except four one instance in the dainas, where Lieldienas is given the same name as one of Mara`s three (or four) daughters , suggesting that Mara`s daughters may be the personification of the festival days. No description of their appearance is found in the dainas except for the adjective ''big''.
The approach of Lieldienas is marked by outdoor singing that is performed by young maidens on quiet spring evenings. Their songs about spring, love, youth and happiness are usually sung on top of a hill so that they are heard far away. The predominating activity during Lieldienas is swinging.
The mythic source of this custom is suggested in the dainas: Diev`s (God`s) cradle is said to have been hung on Lieldienas. Extensive care is taken in every detail at the performance of this activity: the selection of the site and the material for the swing, the choice of men building the swing, as well as the choice of partners for the actual performance. This activity is accompanied by songs delivered by onlookers, whereas the swinging parties are identified and described in a manner characteristic of the musical satire described previously.
On the first day of Lieldienas other activities include: getting up at sunrise and rinsing one`s face in running water; making a pretense of chastising each other and especially children with branches of pussy-willow while wishing good health and happiness in the future. The remnants of a very old custom can be identified in an activity that was meant to
symbolically dispel evil: birds were chased by invading the surrounding fields and woods with a great quantity of making and singing.
Eggs, which symbolize the Sun because of their round shape, are the mainstay of the feast. For the same reason baked goods with round shapes are also included in the meal. Hard boiled eggs are taken along to the hill where people gather to participate in the swinging. Here eggs are given as gifts to those who helped construct the swing and are now assisting the participants in the performance.