Calendar Celebrations in Lithuania

The Feast of St. John in Kernave, southeastern Lithuania, Photo by Ramunas Virkutis

Christmas Eve is the most important holiday of the year, because the whole family gathers for a ritual supper, Kucios. the meal consists of 12 meatless dishes. According to tradition, a portion of each much be eaten. Among the dishes are slizikai, bite-sized, unleavened biscuits baked only for Christmas Eve and eaten with poppy seed milk.

Shrovetide, seven weeks before Easter is a merry day of saying goodbye to winter. Masqueraders go to neighborҳ houses and when they are invited inside to eat pancakes, they offer best wishes for the coming year. When they are not invited in, they respond with humorous pranks In the villages and now in the cities too, More, an effigy of winter, is dragged around and burned at the end of the day.

Easter is celebrated with special Easter palms and dyed, decorated eggs. Looks for more information on the "Palm Sunday Flowers" sign.

The Feast of St. John, Jonines, June 24th, celebrates the longest day of the year. On a beautiful hill site people erect a burning wheel and dance and sing al night. For four decades this celebration was banned by the Soviet authorities as a dangerous public gathering.