On December 9, the finest current and future participants of the Lietuvininkai Dialect School, journalists, and members of the folklore group “Ramytė” gathered for the school’s final event, “Christmas Eve Dishes in Lietuvininkai and Samogitian Homes.”

Cultural researcher Aldona Kuprelytė shared insights about the Samogitians, while ethnographer Indrė Skablauskaitė spoke about the Lietuvininkai way of speaking and specific dialect words, wintering and Advent traditions, weather forecasting, fortune-telling, and the most important winter tasks. A vivid picture was painted of both Lietuvininkai and Samogitians dressed in winter clothing.

It was explained how residents of these ethnographic regions prepared for the most beautiful winter holidays and what dishes adorned the Christmas Eve and Christmas tables of Lietuvininkai and Samogitians. The key difference is that Lietuvininkai, unlike Samogitians, traditionally served meat dishes on Christmas Eve. Event participants were also treated to Samogitian dishes (onion soup, baked herring, Kūčia, kūčiukai, kissel, poppy seed milk, etc.) and Lietuvininkai dishes (roast duck, goose, grey peas with crackling sauce, etc.) traditionally enjoyed on Christmas Eve.

We thank the folklore ensemble “Ramytė” for the concert program that enriched the event and added meaning to the anticipation of the upcoming holidays.