In AD 98, Tacitus, a Roman, mentioned the worship of mahtes, goddesses in the old Latvian mythology. Tacitus, however, did not speak Latvian and spent little time there. Later, reports of Christianization give similarly unbalanced information. We do know that some tribes had had their religious beliefs declining for some time, and accepted Christianity willingly. Others, such as the Curonians and Semigallians, resisted Christianization. Later texts by authors who presumably knew nothing of Latvian beliefs, substituted supposedly authoritative work substituting Prussiann deities, adding extremely unlikely explanations and etymologies.
The deities were believed to live on a mountain called Debeskalns.
The Latvians recognized eight different seasons to the year. The end of one season and the beginning of the next was marked by a festival.
| Winter | Winter Time (Ziemas Laiks) | Ziemassvetki - Meteni |
| Winter | Frost Time (Sersnu Laiks) | Meteni - Lieldienas |
| Spring | Spring Time (Pavasara Laiks) | Lieldienas - Jurgi |
| Spring | Planting Time (Sejas Laiks) | Jurgi - Jani |
| Summer | Threshing Time (Siena Laiks) | Jani - Maras |
| Summer | Autumn time (Rudens Laiks) | Maras - Mikeli |
| Fall | Spirits Time (Velu Laiks) | Mikeli - Martini |
| Fall | Ice Time (Ledus Laiks) | Martini - Ziemassvetki |
Other holidays: