Baltic mythology in the context of "Lithuanian mythology"

Paganism is commonly used to refer to various religions that existed during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as the Greco-Roman religions of the Roman Empire, including the Roman imperial cult, the various mystery religions, religious philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and more localized ethnic religions practiced both inside and outside the empire. During the Middle Ages, the term was also adapted to refer to religions practiced outside the former Roman Empire, such as Germanic paganism, Egyptian paganism and Baltic paganism.

From the point of view of the early Christians, these religions all qualified as ethnic (or gentile, ethnikos, gentilis, the term translating goyim, later rendered as paganus) in contrast with Second Temple Judaism. By the Early Middle Ages (800–1000), faiths referred to as pagan had mostly disappeared in the West through a mixture of peaceful conversion, natural religious change, persecution, and the military conquest of pagan peoples; the Christianization of Lithuania in the 15th century is typically considered to mark the end of this process.

Romuva is a neo-pagan religion derived from the traditional mythology of the Lithuanians, attempting to reconstruct the religious rituals of the Lithuanians before their Christianization in 1387. Practitioners of Romuva claim to continue Baltic pagan traditions which survived in folklore, customs and superstition. Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sanctity of nature and ancestor worship. Practicing the Romuva faith is seen by many adherents as a form of cultural pride, along with celebrating traditional forms of art, retelling Baltic folklore, practicing traditional holidays, playing traditional Baltic music, singing traditional dainos (songs), as well as ecological activism and stewarding sacred places.

Romuva primarily exists in Lithuania but there are also congregations of adherents in Australia, Canada, Russia, the United States, and England. There are believers of Baltic pagan faiths in other nations, including Dievturība in Latvia. According to the 2001 census, there were approximately 1,200 people in Lithuania identifying with Romuva. That number jumped to around 5,100 in the 2011 census.

A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history of mythical associations and triple deities are common throughout world mythology. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets an archetype in the history of religion.

In classical religious traditions, three separate beings may represent either a triad who typically appear as a group (the Greek Moirai, the Roman Parcae, the Norse Norns, the Baltic Dēkla, Kārta and Laima, or the Irish Badb, Macha and Morrígan), or a single deity notable for having three aspects (Greek Hecate and Islamic Hermes Trismegistus). Trinitarian Christianity instead recognizes three "divine persons" in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which are usually distinguished from the idea of independent gods or aspects.

The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European, Siberian, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. It may also be strongly connected to the motif of the tree of life, but it is the source of wisdom of the ages.

Specific world trees include Égig érő fa in Hungarian mythology, Ağaç Ana in Turkic mythology, Kenac' Car in Armenian mythology, Modun in Mongol mythology, Yggdrasil in Norse mythology, Irminsul in Germanic mythology, the oak in Slavic, Finnish and Baltic, Jianmu (Chinese: 建木; pinyin: jiànmù) in Chinese mythology, and in Hindu mythology the Ashvattha (a Ficus religiosa).

The Yule log is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, and subsequently North America. Today, this tradition is celebrated by Christians and modern pagans on or around Christmas or Yule. The name by which this tradition goes, as well as when and how the Yule log should be burnt, varies widely with time and place. The first solid evidence for this tradition originates in 1184 CE as a Christmas eve tradition. The practice was originally known as the "Christmas log" (and still is in languages other than English), with "Yule log" first used in the late 17th century. The origins of the Yule log are unclear, with scholars proposing a variety of possible theories ranging from a medieval Christmas tradition, a surviving ritual from Albanian, Roman, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic or Slavic paganism, or as a Proto-Indo-European ritual that has survived in a variety of cultures until today.

Folklorist Linda Watts provides the following overview of the English Yule log custom:

Prussian mythology is the account of what is known of the polytheistic religion of the Old Prussians, indigenous peoples of Prussia before the Prussian Crusade waged by the Teutonic Knights. This archaic Indo-European religion was closely related to other Baltic faiths, namely those of the Lithuanians and Latvians. Its myths and legends did not survive because the Old Prussian people became Germanized and their culture became extinct in the early 18th century. Fragmentary information on gods and rituals can be found in various medieval chronicles, but most of this is unreliable. No sources document pagan religion before the forced Christianization in the 13th century. Most of what is known about Prussian religion has been recovered from dubious 16th-century sources (Sudovian Book and Simon Grunau).

A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history of mythical associations and triple deities are common throughout world mythology. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets an archetype in the history of religion.

In classical religious traditions, three separate beings may represent either a triad who typically appear as a group (the Greek Moirai, the Roman Parcae, the Norse Norns, the Baltic Dēkla, Kārta and Laima, or the Irish Badb, Macha and Morrígan), or a single deity notable for having three aspects (Greek Hecate and Hellenistic Hermes Trismegistus). Trinitarian Christianity instead recognizes three "divine persons" in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which are usually distinguished from the idea of independent gods or aspects.