Ūsiņš is a Latvian deity of horses, bees and the light of spring, a warm pastoral figure closely tied to the turning of the agrarian year. His feast, Ūsiņi, falls around St George's Day in late April and marks the moment when horses are first driven out to pasture and the labours of the field resume; on that day offerings and rites were made for the health and increase of the horses. Because his name is obscure, scholars have proposed various origins, some comparing the twin Vedic Ashvins or the dawn-goddess Ushas, but the derivation remains disputed. Whatever his ultimate background, in the dainas Ūsiņš is firmly a benevolent guardian of the stable and the beehive and a herald of the returning warmth of the year.