10 ways to recognize a Lithuanian Christmas

1. Three days of festivities

Lithuanian Christmas lasts three days. The 24th, 25th and 26th of December. So many days spent around a table wish seems very small compared to the number of dishes prepared for the occasion.

2. Kūčios
Kūčios means Christmas Eve. During this dinner, we do not eat meat, eggs or milk. The tradition also says that we can’t eat anything during this day before dinner.

3. The table plan
The table plan does not mean that you will be sitting next to the new girlfriend of your father’s cousin and you’ll be bored all night long, this plan arranges the dishes on the table, around a central chandelier. A kind of Tetris that only Lithuanians know.

4. Drawing the short straw

On a corner of the table is a straw bouquet rolled-up in newspapers. Each member of the family and guests draws a straw and compare it to those of the others. Those who has the longest one is ensured to be lucky throughout the year.

5. Like a marathon

For the Christmas Eve dinner, there must be at least 12 different dishes on the table. Every guest has to taste at least a little of each dish. They say that if someone skips one dish, he or she will not survive until the day before the next Christmas …

6. “We give thanks to you our Lord Jesus Christ”

Praying before the Christmas Eve dinner is also part of the traditions. Okay, I do not think this is only a Lithuanian tradition, but it was unusual enough for me to talk about it here.

7. A plate for the deceased

We share the ostie with all the guests around the table and also with the spirits of the dead family members thanks to a plate put in the middle of the table. This plate stays here for them during all the night.

8. The Šakotis

This is a typical cake that is eaten on 25th of December. And also for many other occasions (because it’s delicious!)

9. Married in the year!

Before eating a cold soup made from poppy seeds, we put a handful of croutons in our plate. An even number of croutons indicates that you will be a couple before the end of the year, an odd number indicates that you will remain (or become) single.

10. Some strange dishes …

Juice of currants, poppy seeds “milk”, mixed fish with bones reconstructed in the original skin of the fish, black bread with apricots, or “false” rabbit (mysterious pâté in which I still do not know if there is actually some rabbit meat …). Many original and delicious dishes you need to taste at least once in your life!

And a lot of presents!

My Christmas presents: chocolate, sweets, soaps, cheese, eggs, apples, …

Linksmų Kalėdų! (Merry Christmas)

TOP 10 of the weird things happening abroad

1 – The “baguette”

Before, it was just a part of my meals without giving to me a particular excitement.

Now it is a rare thing that I am looking for everywhere, and when I find it, I’m so glad that I do not even judge its taste which is close to the cheapest baguette in the cheapest supermarket of France

2 – Old songs

Before, they were only old songs that I heard on old radios, with outdated and silly lyrics

Now they are the most beautiful songs in the world, wich I want to sing loudly during parties, but nobody around me understands the pure beauty of these texts …

3 – Cheese

Before, I spent hours in the supermarket choosing the one that tempted me most.

Now it is one of the most expensive products of the store and the choice is restricted to 2 or 3 different cheeses. And when luckily I find a camembert, I realize that it is not a camembert! “why do they put weird stuff inside? “

4 – My French phone

Before, it was my main means of communication and one of the cheapest.

Now it is hidden in my suitcase, always whitout battery, and when it rings, it is like: “what?! someone calls me ?! from France ?! (I run, I fly, I grabbed and pick it up) … and it is advertisment … “and after hanging up, I realize that I ALSO PAID for this useless call!

5 – Holidays

Before, I always tried to spend my holidays abroad

Now for my holidays, I come back home

6 – French movies

Before, I watched them to laugh without thinking, criticizing the quality of the story

Now I watch them with nostalgia and no matter how good is the story

7 – Health insurance

Before, it was a normal privilege

Now it is …

a big joke (that makes everyone laugh except me)

8 – Paris

Before, it was the capital of France

Now this is the city from where all foreigners think I am

9 – Music

Before, I hated French commercial songs in nightclubs

Now when I hear one of those stupid songs in a party, I jump around and I am surprised to sing and know the lyrics

10 – Meet French people

Before, I did not even notice someone speaking in french in a street

Now, it happens so rarely that I cannot stop myself to listen their conversation indiscreetly and go to chat with them

Lithuanian cuisine!

Since one month and a half, I do not miss an opportunity to taste the Lithuanian cuisine.

CEPELINAI

recipe : http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/lithuaniannoodles/r/zeppelins.htm

ŠALTIBARŠČIAI

recipe : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/215037/lithuanian-saltibarsciai-cold-beet-soup/

 

KIBINAI

recipe : http://lithuanian-recipes.com/kuldunai-lithuanian-meat-dumplings

Sūrio piršteliai or cheese fingers

 

The most popular Lithuanian beer is Švyturys wich means “lighthouse”.

Lithuania does not produce wine. At least not grape wine (what’s that? ..). The country grows mainly red fruit (strawberry, blackcurrant, raspberry) wich is the basis of this wine.

 

SKANAUS! (bon appétit !)

Do you eat frogs?!

On Friday, we went to a school in Varėna (south of Vilnius) to be the “books” of a living library. It looks like a normal library, where people can come to read books, but here the books are human beings. The purpose of this action is to talk about prejudices, stereotypes and to allow participants to meet people who can inform them about a topic.

This is the second time that I participate, beeing a “French book” (prancūzas). At the entrance of the human library, the readers choose in a catalog, the “book” that they want to read / to meet. For the “French book”, the catalog says:

– Valgo varles: eat frogs

– Intelectualūs: intellectuals

– Nekalba užsienio kalbomis: do not speak foreign languages

– Arogantiški: arrogant

– Nacionalistai: nationalists

This is me!

The first students I meet ask me, laughing: “Do you eat frogs?” It looks really funny for them. I tell them that I have never eaten frogs. They look disappointed. Then I add: “But sometimes, I eat very tasty snails!”

I expected laughs again, but no. Now they have disgusted faces. I try to catch their attention speaking about wine, champagne and cheese but nothing happens … They are shocked.

With the following, I try not to mention my love for snails, avoiding some nauseas to my “readers”. Some of them want to talk about politics, the rise of nationalism or Islam in France, some others speak about the Cannes film festival, or the pollution. One of them asks me if in France, it is possible to drink the tap water or if it is too polluted … Then, he explains me that France is the country that uses the most pesticides in Europe. I did not know and I think: “The human library is the only library where the book can learn from its reader!”