by Algis Rukšėnas. The recent television series The Vikings has reawakened interest in the historical period in which they reigned, the accuracy of descriptions about them and their ways, and their relationship to groups with which they came into contact during their ascendancy from about 793 to 1066; the period …

By ALGIRDAS PATACKAS.   Liberty, a flame and oxygen Romas Kalantas’ sacrifice recalled – an eyewitness account May 14, 1972.Word spreads through Kaunas that a young man set himself on fire in a city park. Why? No one knows. But soon we connect the dots. His motives appear to be similar …

By Vilija Visockienė. The history of horse racing on the ice at Dusetos dates back more than two centuries. There is even a legend of how all of this got started: around Dusetos there once lived a wicked landowner. A serf asked permission to marry a beautiful young girl, but …

By TADDES KORRIS. The name of Vladas Jakubėnas is one of great importance in Lithuanian musical and cultural history. His creative work took shape during the ’20s and ’30s, when Europe was bustling with new ideas in art, technology, psychology and ideology. Lithuania, a free state since 1918, was defined by …

By Dainius Zalensas. If you have ever been to a Lithuanian wedding, you were most likely treated to a Tree Cake, a towering conical confection with numerous rounded branches jutting out from its trunk. It is a cake that gives a Lithuanian family celebration loft. The cake batter is made from …

By Alexandra Kudukis. On March 1, a group of more than 30 California Lithuanians gathered at the Los angeles walt Disney Concdert Hall for a evening of Mozart, stravinsky and Beethoven. They unfurled a Lithuanian flag on the steps in honor of the Los angeles Philharmonic’s recently appointed assistant Conductor, …

by Simona Makselienė.   Jonas Buračas was born on August 8, 1898 in the village of Sidariai, Šiauliai county. The Buračas family apparently transmitted a creativity gene to all three brothers: Jonas, Balys, and Bronius. Jonas was the painter, Balys a famous photographer (the history of Lithuanian photography is closely …

by Alex Šilbajoris. Of all the Lithuanian recipes my parents brought to the US, koldūnai were always my favorite. Dumplings filled with beef and drowned in butter! Making them was an event bringing all of the family together in the kitchen for hours of work, laughter, and talk. Everyone had …

By Josephine J. Daužvardis. Hedgehogs, those little spindly porcupine creatures, are much loved in Lithuania. Nature’s little exterminators, they were often brought into the farmhouse to control insect problems. The whimsical cake is a delight for the easter table or for a spring party. This recipe requires a bit of imagination …

By ALEKSAS VITKUS. Time has come to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the re-establishment of Lithuania’s independence, which was joyfully declared a quarter of a century ago in Lithuania and celebrated by Lithuanians throughout the world. Who could have believed that after 50 years of the hated occupation the dawn of …