In the countryside, Christianity co-existed alongside pagan beliefs and ritual practices such as offerings to the dead, fecundity rituals, sun worship, veneration of the forces of nature, and amulets. Some pre-Romanesque and Romanesque churches were built on sites considered to be sacred from ancient times. The rural populace had little leisure time. When there was no work in th fields, they would make their tools and vessels. Periods when there was less farming activity were when festivities and other gatherings took place. Occasionally, jugglers and minstrels would arrive in the villages and do tricks and tell stories.