Vesna

The vesna or vesnas were mythological female characters associated with youth and springtime in early Slavic mythology, particularly within Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. Along with her male companion Vesnik, she was associated with rituals conducted in rural areas during springtime. In the nineteenth century, Russian peasants celebrated the return of spring on March 1 by going out to the fields, carrying a clay figure of a lark on a pivot which had been decorated with flowers. They sang songs naming the spring season Vesna. The word "vesna" is still the poetic word for "spring" in the Slovene language, as well as Czech and Slovak. Also, vesna (Russian:весна́) is a Russian word for spring. The month February is sometimes named vesnar in Slovene language.