I'm the RD On Duty for spring break this year, so that means Erik and I must limit our exploring to within Klaipeda's city limits. I am not complaining though, as it feels like we need a break from the consistent pace of school and a reason to take time for the less commonly visited places around us here. Thus far into the week has been a lot of soaking up time together inside our apartment with carefully budgeted trips out and about happening here and there.
I thought I should fill you in on the Lithuanian holidays that are happening this week. They are the kind of holidays that feel like Groundhog's Day does back home (Who celebrates Groundhog's Day in the United States besides AmySue and me?), but people actually get a day off work for these ones. I suppose they are actually more similar to our President's Day weekend. All that to say, I have been doing some of my own research to try and understand the holidays observed around here and so it seems appropriate to give you the scoop as well.
+St. Casimir's Day+
St. Casimir was a Prince of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who became a patron saint of Lithuania, Poland, and the young. "Little Casimir's" Fair (or Kaziuko mugė if you want to say it in Lithuanian) is held in cities in Lithuania on the Sunday nearest to the anniversary of his death, March 4. Some helpful info from Wikipedia I inserted below explains what Erik and I discovered in the theater square downtown this weekend. It's the closest thing to the MN State Fair we have experienced since being here. Definitely worth checking it out. Erik and I tasted hot beer and waffle cakes, bought the most creative palm fronds I have ever seen, and then wished we could buy heart-shaped honey cookies for all of our friends who had to remain at home. It was a joyful celebration of everything truly Lithuanian.
Kaziuko mugė
• The arts and crafts at the fair include hand-made goods from local craftsmen, such as apparel, knitted clothes, footwear, toys, utensils, metal crafts, souvenirs, and paintings. Foodstuffs like rye bread, bagels, honey cookies, meat and diary products, natural honey, beer, and gira are sold as well.
• "Palm" bouquets (called "verbos", hence Verbų sekmadienis) are one of the fair's specialties. Made of colorful dried flowers and herbs, they are taken to churches on Palm Sunday. The shape of the "palms" resembles a lily, a flower which St. Casimir is traditionally associated with.
• Another popular product at the fair is the "muginukas", an often heart-shaped honey cookie, decorated with colored sugar flowers, zig-zags, dots, and birds. Popular men's and women's names are written on the cookies. People buy them to give to their loved ones. It is a customary tradition to bring back some cookies for anyone who had to remain at home.
+International Woman's Day+
Yesterday, March 8, was a major day of global celebration of women, but it wasn't until I moved to Lithuania that I witnessed its observance in any form. I was informed by students at LCC that Woman's Day is an old Soviet holiday that they have grown up celebrating in many of the countries previously occupied by Russia. I was also told that the usual custom is for men to give the women in their lives - mothers, wives, daughters, colleagues, etc - flowers and other small gifts. It all became more clear when Erik and I finally understood what an older gentlemen at the bus stop was trying to communicate to us through a mixture of Lithuanian/English & sherades - he wanted to make sure that Erik intended to give me a flower in honor of Women's Day. Now that I think about it, I don't know if I ever did receive that flower in honor of Women's Day. :) I did notice that there were a number of public events advertised this last week to promote awareness of women's topics. Once again, a quick search in Wikipedia enlightened me on the history of this holiday's beginning and the various ways it continues to be celebrated in different places today.
• Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the formerSoviet bloc. In many regions, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.
• On May 8, 1965 by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women's Day was declared as a non working day in the USSR "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Fatherland during the Great Patriotic War, in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays."
That's enough of a cultural lesson for now. To be continued...coming up this week on March 11 is Lithuania's Restoration of Independence Day. More about that next time.
