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Who are the Samogitians?\\xa0 According to the Wikipedia page entitled, Samogitia, Samogitia or \\u017demaitija in Lithuanian, is one of five ethnographic regions in Lithuania.\\xa0 It\\u2019s primarily the western third of Lithuania.\\xa0 The Samogitians were a key factor during the Battle of the Sun.
In 1236, the invading Livonian Brothers of the Sword, whose base of operations was Riga, in present day Latvia, rode south into present day Lithuania.\\xa0 The Livonian Brothers were Christian Crusaders from Holstein in present day Germany.\\xa0 Lithuania hadn\\u2019t been conquered by the Christian armies and they were willing to fight to keep the Christians out.\\xa0
The Livonian knights left Riga, headed south, crossed into Lithuanian land and raided some Samogitian settlements.\\xa0 After the Germans had their fill of raiding villages, they headed north towards home.\\xa0 They came to a river crossing and a unit of Samogitian Lithuanians\\xa0were blocking their path.\\xa0 The Crusaders chose not to fight but to camp for the night.\\xa0

Oops, that was a mistake.

Early the next morning the Samogitian Lithuanians, who were probably led by Duke Vykintas, attacked the German camp.\\xa0 The lightly armored Germans in the camp bravely ran away but the heavily armored crusader knights stayed and fought.\\xa0 The knights were completely wiped out, including the leader of the Livonian Brothers, Master Volquin.
The German survivors of the battle who tried to continue north towards Riga were discovered by the Semigallions and slaughtered.\\xa0 The Semigallions were a tribe of Latvians who were noted for their long resistance against the German crusaders.
All in all, during the Battle of the Sun, some 50 or 60 crusader knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, it was the first large scale defeat for the crusaders in Baltic lands.\\xa0 The Livonian Order was so soundly defeated that the next year they had to be incorporated into the Tuetonic Order.\\xa0 The battle inspired the Curonians, the Semigallians, and the Selonians, tribes which had already been defeated by the crusaders, to rebel.\\xa0 The results of some thirty years of conquest were lost.
The exact location of the Battle of the Sun isn\\u2019t known but it\\u2019s likely near the present-day city of \\u0160iauliai.

And now, just a quick note before we move on to today\'s lesson.\\xa0 We have a new email address, it\'s lithuanianoutloud@earthlink.net you can find it on the blogpage.\\xa0 And now, here\'s a plug from one of our listeners in Lithuania...

Hello everybody!\\xa0 This is Evaldas from Klaip\\u0117da, Lithuania, and you are listening to Lithuanian Out Loud with Raminta and Jack, enjoy!

Thanks a lot for doing that for us, Evaldas, we really appreciate it.\\xa0 Thanks a bunch!

Today we\\u2019re going out for some drinks with our buddies and we just might speak some Lithuanian \\u2013 Out Loud!
Just before we actually take our first sip of an alcoholic beverage we have a few choices on how to say, \\u201ccheers!" or \\u201cto your health!" or \\u201chere\\u2019s mud in your eye!" as you tap your glasses together.

The most common one I\\u2019ve heard is
\\u012e sveikat\\u0105!

please repeat out loud
pra\\u0161om pakartoti

\\u012e sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
To health!

\\u012e sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
Health!

\\u012e sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
Cheers!

\\u012e sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
Salud!

You can say this one to a male, a female or to a group of people, it doesn\\u2019t matter.\\xa0 In Lithuanian culture it\\u2019s important that as you tap your glasses and say, \\u012e sveikat\\u0105! that you look the other person straight in the eye.\\xa0 If you don\\u2019t, I don\\u2019t know, it\\u2019s bad luck or something\\u2026

If you want, you can be more specific with this.\\xa0 Instead of just saying, \\u012e sveikat\\u0105, or \\u201cto health," you can say, \\u201cto your health."

\\u012e j\\u016bs\\u0173 sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
To your health! (you formal or you-all)

\\u012e tavo sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
To your health! (familiar)

\\u012e j\\u016bs\\u0173 sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
To your health! (you formal or you-all)

\\u012e tavo sveikat\\u0105!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
To your health! (familiar)

Another great phrase to use is b\\u016bk sveikas! or b\\u016bk sveika!\\xa0 This literally means \\u201cbe healthy!"\\xa0 Of course as you might have guessed b\\u016bk sveikas! is said to a man and b\\u016bk sveika! is said to a woman.
Please repeat, pra\\u0161om pakartoti\\u2026

b\\u016bk sveikas!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 \\xa0
Be healthy! (to a male)

b\\u016bk sveikas!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 \\xa0
Be healthy! (to a male)

b\\u016bk sveika!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 \\xa0\\xa0
Be healthy! (to a female)

b\\u016bk sveika!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 \\xa0
Be healthy! (to a female)

Here\\u2019s another one for you.\\xa0 Iki dugno!
When you\\u2019re having any kind of alcoholic beverage, feel free to use \\u012f sveikat\\u0105, b\\u016bk sveika, or b\\u016bk sveikas.
However, the only time we use iki dugno is with shots.\\xa0 Shots are as popular in Lithuania as they are in North America \\u2013 that is to say, they\\u2019re common.\\xa0 Dugno comes from the word dugnas, meaning bottom.\\xa0 So, we\\u2019re saying \\u201cuntil the bottom of the glass!" or \\u201cdrink it down to the dregs!"
In other words, you don\\u2019t drink just half a shot.\\xa0 When you say iki dugno, you\\u2019re expected to finish off the glass in one go at it.
Please repeat, pra\\u0161om pakartoti\\u2026

Iki dugno!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
Bottoms up!

Iki dugno!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
Bottoms up!

Iki dugno!\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 \\xa0\\xa0
Bottoms up!

And that\\u2019s it for our introduction to drinking with Lithuanians.\\xa0 You can expect more lessons on this subject.\\xa0 Maybe a lot more.\\xa0 :)