Easter in Riga (Lieldienas)
Latvian Easter is older than the Christian one it borrowed the date from — and the swings are the giveaway.
Quick Answer
Lieldienas is the Latvian Easter, and it carries a strong pre-Christian layer: it marks the spring equinox and the return of the sun as much as the religious holiday. The best place to see it done traditionally is the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum on the edge of Riga, which stages a large family celebration with egg decorating and rolling, giant wooden swings, folk groups and a craft market.
What Lieldienas Actually Is
The Latvian name translates roughly as “the big days”, and the traditions attached to it are older than the Christian festival whose date it now shares. Lieldienas marks the spring equinox and the sun’s return after the long Baltic winter — which, after a Riga February, is a thing worth marking.
Three customs stand out. Egg decorating is traditionally done with onion skins, birch leaves and other natural dyes rather than paint, producing deep browns and reds. Egg rolling and egg tapping are the competitive part. And swinging — on large wooden swings built for the occasion — is the one visitors tend not to expect: swinging high at Easter was believed to bring good fortune and ward off mosquito bites through the summer.
Where to See It: The Open-Air Museum
The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, on the shore of Lake Jugla at the edge of Riga, is the obvious place. It stages a full Easter celebration — traditional egg decorating and rolling, the big swings, folk song and dance groups, a craft and local-producer market, and children’s programming. The museum itself is a collection of historic farmsteads and buildings moved here from across Latvia, so the setting does a lot of the work.
Planning Around It
Easter moves each year, so check the date before booking — it can fall anywhere from late March to late April. Either way it lands in a cheap, quiet window well before peak season, with prices still at shoulder-season levels (see our cost guide). Spring is also when Riga Restaurant Week tends to run, which pairs well. For the rest of the year, see the events calendar, and for the other great Latvian solar festival, our Jāņi guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lieldienas in Latvia?
Lieldienas is the Latvian Easter. The name translates roughly as “the big days”, and the traditions attached to it predate Christianity — it marks the spring equinox and the return of the sun as much as the religious holiday.
What are Latvian Easter traditions?
The main ones are decorating eggs with natural dyes such as onion skins and birch leaves, egg rolling and egg tapping contests, and swinging on large wooden swings built for the occasion — swinging high was believed to bring good fortune and keep mosquitoes away through the summer.
Where can I experience Latvian Easter traditions in Riga?
The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum on the edge of Riga stages the largest traditional celebration — egg decorating and rolling, the traditional swings, folk song and dance groups, and a craft and local-producer market, set among historic farmsteads relocated from across Latvia.
When is Easter in Latvia?
Easter moves each year and can fall anywhere from late March to late April. Latvia observes Good Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays, so check the current year's dates before planning travel around it.
Planning a spring trip?
Last updated: August 2026. Easter dates move annually and the Open-Air Museum sets its programme each year — check the museum's listings for the current celebration before travelling.