Parish festival

A parish festival^[1] or parish fair^[2] or indulgence feast^[3] (Lithuanian: atlaidai; Polish: odpust parafialny) is a local annual festival held by Roman Catholic churches in Poland and Lithuania on a feast day of the patron saint of a given parish. Many of the festivals have long historic traditions that date back to the Counter-Reformation in the 16–17th centuries. Almost every parish has such festival with some churches having several.^[4] Participants in these festivals can receive indulgences for themselves and their dead relatives.^[5] The festivals include masses, religious processions, performances by church choirs, other music performances^[6] and are often accompanied by traditional craft markets.^[4] The feasts reinforce local identity and foster a sense of community.^[4] Some of the larger festivals, like the Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival, last for a week, attract thousands of people, and are major pilgrimage events.^[3][4]

Major parish festivals in Lithuania:^[5]

• Of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Žemaičių Kalvarija in July (see the Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival)
• Of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pivašiūnai and Krekenava in August
• Of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Šiluva in September
• Of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius in November
• Of Saints Peter and Paul in Vilnius in June
• Of Our Lady of Trakai in Trakai in September