When the days begin to shorten and the circle of nature comes towards the end, it is time to enjoy the new harvest, give thanks for it, and prepare for the dark period. During the autumn equinox, it is customary to organize markets selling products of the latest harvest. Another attraction of the festival – the burning of straw sculptures and various fire shows – probably the most impressive of them takes place on the Neris waterfront in Vilnius. September 22, the day when in 1236 in the battle of Saulė, the united forces of Baltic tribes defeated the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, was declared in 2000 by the Latvian and Lithuanian Parliaments as Baltic Unity Day.
