Cooking Lithuanian by Ona Daugirdienė. Christmas Eve or Kūčios is a sacred day. Family members hurry home to be with their loved ones, debts are repaid, neighbors make peace, animals speak at midnight and well water turns to wine. The table for the evening meal is covered with a snowy …

by Jonas Daugirdas. (updated 24 Dec 2018 with section on diphthongs).  PART 1: Pronunciation of consonants d, t, and n. Many children of Lithuanian families who were raised in America pronounce certain consonants when speaking Lithuanian in a way that makes their spoken Lithuanian quickly identifiable as non-native. One little …

by Vida Kuprys. 27 years ago, Lithuanians Latvians and Estonian joined hands in the Baltic Way. This August they joined voices. August 23rd is Black Ribbon Day. On this infamous date in 1939, Hitler’s and Stalin’s henchmen Ribbentrop and Molotov signed a non-aggression treaty that ultimately sent all of Europe …

Text and photos by JULIE SKURDENIS. THE CURONIAN SPIT (KURŠIŲ NERINGA) IS A 60 mile long narrow finger of forest and sand that separates the Curonian Lagoon (Kuršių Marios) from the Baltic Sea. The northern portion of the spit is Lithuanian. It’s called Neringa after a legendary giantess who supposedly …

by Ona Daugirdas. Every family has its own food rituals for Holy Days and holidays. In my family, cast-in-stone Easter breakfast requirements were margučiai decorated by the children, my mother’s delectable cold roast duck, her light as a feather babka, and my dessert contribution—paska. When I married into the Daugirdas …

A new free e-book explores historical connections between Austrian and Lithuanian cooking. by ALICIA RUDOKAS. On January 26 the Austrian-Lithuanian community met in the heart of Vienna to celebrate the launch of a special publication: The eCookbook,  Tasting Historical Europe – Exploring the Culinary Threads between Austria and Lithuania. One …

by Mindaugas Sereičikas. The name of military and glider pilot Gregorius Radvenis and his contributions to the sport of gliding in Lithuania have been unjustly forgotten, since the word which best describes him and his accomplishments is “first.” He was the first Lithuanian to become professionally proficient in gliding. He …

By Helga Merits. Who would imagine that refugees who had lost everything would create a university so soon after WW II in an almost totally devastated city? The story is not widely known, so I decided to make a documentary film about it: The Story of the Baltic University. At …

Lithuanian Folk Dance Group suktinis marched and danced in Chicago’s McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 26. They were joined by Lithuanian Grandpa and Grandma— giant puppets created by local artist ugnė Carm. Leading the group were flag bearers Lithuania’s General Consul in Chicago Marijus Gudynas and the Consulate’s Director …

By LEO ALGMINAS. Soon after Lithuania regained its independence in 1991, I traveled there to see for myself what the country of my birth looked like after nearly a half century of Communism. As a self- employed consultant to a particular segment of manufacturing, I also scouted for ...