Michaelmas Fair

At Michaelmas they say the winter gates are now open - meaning that from this day one must expect the cold to begin. Michaelmas is usually celebrated on 29 September, but this year on 25 September the Michaelmas Fair in Old Riga - on Dome Square and Town Hall Square - took place bathed in warm sunshine (the mercury had climbed above +20°C) and nothing at all suggested the approach of a harsh winter. Though wise folk say that an autumn as bountiful as this year's will certainly bring a winter equally bountiful and harsh. Well, we'll see - but here, for now, is a little glimpse of the Michaelmas, or Harvest Home, celebrations in the very heart of the city.