What do you know about Christmas traditions in Lithuania?

Šilutės r. Katyčių pagrindinė mokykla,,The Seasons”

Comenius Multilateral Project 2013 – 2015

What do you have to do?

• Read the question.• Choose an answer.

1. According to the Lithuanian beliefs, on which holiday animals are able to speak? • Easter• St. John's Night• New Year Eve• Christmas Eve

The correct answer:Christmas Eve

Well, believe it or not, on Christmas Eve, at midnight exactly, animals can speak. However, I wouldn't recommend you to listen because you might hear about the day of your own death.

2. How many different dishes should be served for the

traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dinner? • Seven• None - it's a feast day• Twelve• Three

The correct answer: Twelve. According to the traditions, there should be at least twelve dishes because Jesus had 12 Apostles. The problem is, that on this day meat products (and in certain regions even milk products) are not allowed. So the suitable food is mainly fish, mushrooms, vegetables and similar ones. It is very important to taste each dish – otherwise, you won't last until next Christmas.

3. One necessary dish on the Christmas Eve table is Slizikai (a

sort of Christmas Eve biscuit). Lithuanians eat them with

• poppy seed milk• dandelion wine• goat milk• vodka

The correct answer: poppy seed milk Okay, this is how you should do it. Take 2 cups of dried poppy seeds and pour boiling water over them. Let stand for about 5 minutes and then drain them. After that, crush the seeds with a mill, then add some sweetened water to get a thin liquid. Now put this liquid on slizikai and enjoy! The food of Gods! :)

Sorry, you are wrong.

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4. Imagine that Christmas Eve dinner has finished. Everyone leaves the table, but the food is left to stand overnight.

Why? • The food is left for the animals• Lithuanians become very lazy after eating

many dishes• The spirits of dead relatives or loved ones

will visit the home during the night and eat• It is a custom to eat the same food on

Christmas Day

The correct answer: The spirits of dead relatives or loved ones will visit the home during the night and eat.

There's also an empty plate placed on the table during the Christmas Eve dinner. It is believed that the spirit of a relative who died that year participates in dinner.

5. It is believed, that if a person falls down on the New Year day, he/she will:

• gain a fortune that year• be lucky all the year• be unlucky all the year• go bankrupt that year

The correct answer: will be unlucky all the year .

So don't fall down!

6. If a Lithuanian single girl wants to dream about her future

husband, on Christmas Eve she should eat: • Bananas• Mushrooms• Herring• Oyster

The correct answer: Herring.

So be attentive: the one who will bring you something to drink in your dream is your husband-to-be.

“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained there in.”