Filed under: Festivals and Occasions
Easter was spent this year in Panevežys with my cousins. When I arrived on Saturday afternoon, they had just finished decorating the eggs. Far from the usual Lithuanian eggs decorated using either beeswax or a scratching technique (which my Grandmother is famous for), they used onion skins, colored string and various herbs and flowers to make what I called avant-garde Easter eggs.
Not only were they beautiful, each one unique, but they began conversations and inspired communication at the table. There’s no better way to spend a holiday with family than around the table caught up in inspired conversation!
April 13, 2009
It’s not an April Fool’s joke: residents of the tiny Republic of Užupis, which lays just beyond the River Vilnelė, take their Independence Day very seriously. It all starts with the border patrol on the Užupis Bridge. Dressed in white jumpsuits and 3-D glasses, “immigration agents” wait to stamp your passport. Yes that’s right, you can get an authentic Užupis visa, good for a one day visit…
Continue April 1, 2009
The parliamentary and presidential elections in Lithuania are far less colorful affairs then they are in the United States. There are no primaries, presidential debates, national conventions or celebrity endorsements. In the weeks up to the parliamentary election this year, posters appeared on empty walls, and occasionally an interview would be given by one of the candidates on Lithuanian National Television (LTV). I didn’t even realize it was an election year until the magazine I work for did a parody of some of the popular parties and their posters…
Continue December 11, 2008
Every year (for the last four years) the International Women’s Association of Vilnius hosts their annual Christmas Charity Bazaar. The halls of the Rotusė are filled with booths representing countries like Kazakhstan, Belarus, Austria, France and Poland…
Continue December 9, 2008
In the United States, they celebrate the coming of spring by standing around all day waiting for a rodent to stick his head out of the snow. In Lithuania, they burn giant girls made of straw. At the Ethnographical Museum in Rumšiškės near Kaunas, Užgavenis (Shrove Tuesday) is celebrated the Sunday before with a very pagan arts and crafts festival, music, and food…
Continue December 7, 2008
As soon as the weather turns warm, the best place for people-watching on Saturday afternoon is on Pilies gatvė. April in the Vilnius Senamiestes (Old Town) is marked by the building of the summer patios on the street outside the restaurants. Lithuanians, being cold weather people, will sit outside in conditions much of the rest of the world would consider “too cold.” If the sun is shining, and it’s at least 50°F, the outside tables will be full…
Continue December 3, 2008
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