Welcome back to Into the Forests I Go, my little corner of the internet to share life in Lithuania (and beyond!) as an expat. I'm glad you're here!
If you were in Lithuania at the beginning of July, you couldn't escape the whizzing activity of this country's Dainų šventė, or Song Festival. (Yes, I'm fully aware I moved to the right country!)
I'd heard of this festival before, but I didn't really know what it was, to be honest. This year, though, they really went all out celebrating 100 years of its existence. For a whole week, you could find cultural song and dance celebrations - yes, complete with my beloved sutartinės (polyrhythmic chanting) and kanklės. Y'all know how much I love these cultural events, so I scooped up my last energy reserves and attended as many as I could.
And while unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the penultimate concert at Vingis Park on July 6 - truly looked like a sight to behold! - I wanted to share my own experiences with you. Write what you know, right?
Photo by N. Jankauskas
So, this song festival! Well, despite the name, it's a song and dance cultural festival, but I learned that it originated in Kaunas and didn't move over to Vilnius until 1946. And amazingly (to me, at least!), it stayed active during the Soviet occupation - the traditions were able to continue. I can only imagine this is a huge source of pride for Lithuanians, especially given how much they talk about post-Soviet mentality and behaviors here. How were they able to continue with these folk songs and accompanied dancing? All I know is that it's a big deal here.
On June 30, I went to a smaller event at the Vilnius Town Hall (Vilniaus rotušė) which featured booths of Lithuanians from different parts of the world, cultural folk dancing and singing, and - AND!? - a performance by Eurovision's The Roop. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by them; they were a big deal here in Lithuania in 2021's Eurovision - right before The Scientist and I moved here. But it was also a bit sonically confusing watching beautiful folk traditions followed by dance-pop that sampled The Eurythmics's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)."
Culturally jarring.
But hey, all in a day in Lithuania!
The other Song Festival event I went to was quite a bit bigger - although nowhere near the size of the Vingis Park performance or crowd.
Knowing even this was going to be a big deal, I didn't dare chance it by driving my car downtown. Instead, I hopped on a bus and made my way over to Cathedral Square where all the activity was happening. And it's a good thing I took that bus, because riding down the main road, I noticed it was lined - absolutely packed - with buses and cars coming from cities and towns all over Lithuania.
This was a big deal.
Once I booked it over to Cathedral Square, there was commotion everywhere - and it hadn't even started yet. A huge stage was built up with rows and rows of seating, roped off to the public. Maybe it was for guests of honor? People who couldn't stand for as long? That in and of itself was curious to me.
After meeting up with a friend, we wove our way through Bernardinų sodas (Bernardine Garden), where - yeah, you guessed it - even more activities were happening. Everywhere we looked and listened, a folk song performance was happening - and I'm imagining these were just a handful of the Lithuanians who came by bus from different cultural regions.
Color me intrigued.
Booths were set up everywhere, selling locally made and culturally important knick-knacks. We even saw the tail end of a Romuva-based Kulgrinda performance; I recognized it immediately from their identifiable drum beat. (How amusing that I can recognize it now!) It's clear to me that, especially after years of occupation, Lithuania is incredibly proud of its culture. (And hopefully people like myself and The Scientist add positively to the mix!) Winding our way back to the main stage, the performance began. There was a quiet throughout the crowd as folk singers and dancers splayed themselves across the stage, and then -
The Cathedral Bell Tower rang - and rang and rang and rang.
It didn't stop for what felt like five obnoxious minutes, and while it was distracting given our location, it also provided a bit of comedic commentary for the crowd. Once it dissipated twelve hours later (just kidding!), the party really started.
I saw people of all ages dancing and singing along to the music onstage - and it was really refreshing to my eyes. My favorite part of the whole event was seeing younger girls and teenagers dressed in their regional outfits - clearly a big deal to them and a big deal to me. Some could say that these types of cultural events are dying out, as younger generations move towards social media, their phones, distractions.
But here, it was clear that these cultural ties are firmly roped together. People care. As different groups entered and exited the stage, musicians off to the side, I was left with a sense of awe and appreciation for this country's resilience. The harmonies, the outfits, people unabashedly celebrating their culture.
I loved it - and you'll see me at the next one, Lithuania. I'll make it to the big Vingis Park event, mark my words!
Thank you for sharing your culture with me, Lithuania!
Do you live in a culture that really makes a point to bridge itself across generations? Are you interested in moving somewhere that does? Feel free to let me know in the comments, on the Connect page, or over on my Instagram.
Until next time - iki!
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