How do Lithuanians spend Christmas? In the company of family and good food. Bake traditional kūčiukai poppy seed cookies!

The Lithuanian year is framed by Christian holidays, the year’s highlight being Christmas.

What does a classic Lithuanian Christmas tree look like?

How many dishes should Christmas Eve dinner contain?

Who is Christmas Senelis?

Why do Lithuanians pull straws from under the tablecloth?

You will learn more about how Lithuania celebrates Christmas in the following lines.

When is Christmas celebrated in Lithuania?

Lithuanians celebrate Christmas on December 24, that is, on Christmas Day, Kūčios in Lithuanian. Kūčios is also the name of a giant Christmas Eve meal that families eat together during the evening.

The Christmas season lasts until January 6, or the Three Kings, who walk through the streets of cities and write the traditional initials K+M+B with chalk on the front doors. On this day, most Christmas trees and decorations are hurriedly removed.

In Lithuanian, Merry Christmas is called Linksmų Klištų.

Do you know Lithuanian Christmas traditions?

In the past, Christmas in Lithuania, especially Christmas Day, was associated with many customs and preparations. The whole house was cleaned, the bed linen was changed, and everyone was dressed cleanly. Many Lithuanians used to go to the baths to wash themselves before dinner, as cleanliness is said to help ward off evil or illness during the coming year.

Popular Lithuanian Christmas decorations are straw ones. They are often in the shape of stars, snowflakes, or other geometric shapes. The most popular Christmas tree type is the spruce, decorated on Christmas Eve.

The straw is usually spread on the tabletop and then covered with a white tablecloth. The table is then decorated with candles and fir branches. Straw reminds people of Jesus lying in a manger. Superstition says that if you pull a piece of straw from under the tablecloth and it is long, you will have a long life, but if it is short, you will have a short life. A thick straw means a prosperous and happy life.

An extra place is often prepared at the Christmas Eve table for a family member who cannot come or if someone in the family has died during the past year.

Who brings the children’s presents?

Lithuanian children are brought gifts on Christmas Eve by the Christmas Senelis, or Father Christmas, and leave the gifts under the Christmas tree. In some families, gifts are unwrapped in the evening, in others only in the morning. After the allotment, children often go to bed, and adults can go to midnight mass or Bernelių mišios.

Christmas Senelis is usually depicted as a friendly, fat man with a long white beard, red clothes, and a sack of gifts. Children are told that he arrives on Christmas Day on a reindeer sled and lives in the north for the rest of the year, where he and his helpers prepare gifts for the following year.

What is eaten in Lithuania at Christmas?

In the center of the Christmas Eve table is a plate of special Christmas wafers, one wafer for each dinner party. In some parts of Lithuania, wafers depict the scene of the birth of Jesus.

Dinner can begin when the first stars are visible in the night sky. Wafers are offered to everyone at the table, and Christmas greetings are exchanged. Sometimes, an apple is also cut, again divided into as many parts as there are people at the table. The apple resembles the apple eaten in the Garden of Eden.

The Christmas Eve dinner should have 12 meatless dishes, one for each apostle. Traditional and popular dishes include fish (often salted), kūčiukai (small sweet pastries) usually dipped in poppy seed milk, kisielius (cranberry drink), dried fruit soup, beetroot soup (often with mushroom-filled dumplings), vegetable salad, mushrooms, boiled or baked potatoes, sauerkraut, wheat porridge with honey and bread. Usually, only water or home cider is drunk.

How to prepare your kūčiukai?

Kūčiukai is a Christmas candy usually eaten with poppy seed milk, but it can also be enjoyed independently. Since this cookie expands a lot during baking, we recommend cutting it into small pieces. If you cut large pieces, you will get more “buns.”

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup lukewarm water or milk
• 7 tablespoons of sugar
• tablespoon dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Mix sugar and yeast in lukewarm water.
2. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and warm it for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the poppy seeds and salt.
4. Start adding the flour in thirds. Add a third of the flour, mix, add another third, mix, add the remaining flour, and then start kneading the dough.
5. Process until the dough sticks together and forms a smooth ball.
6. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rise for at least an hour until it doubles in size.
7. After rising, knead the dough again.
8. Form a ball and divide it into eight parts.
9. Roll each part into a roll with a diameter of about 0.4 inches
10. Cut the rolls into small pieces.
11. Place the candy on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
12. Bake in an oven preheated to 356°F for 12-15 minutes.

What places to visit in Lithuania at Christmas?

If you decide to spend Christmas in Lithuania this year, you have a wide range of options and activities to choose from.

• Vilnius – Did you know you can take a special Christmas train to visit the Lithuanian capital? Traditional attractions include famous Christmas markets or ice rinks for all skating lovers.

• Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, combines history and modernity. Here, you will find postmodern architecture, unique museums, fascinating street art, quirky and stunning Christmas decorations, and an innovative Christmas tree specially designed by a designer.