The ERASMUS Experience Lithuania

2018 is almost over and the new year is already knocking on our doors. But how do Lithuanians celebrate New Years Eve traditionally? We will present you the most important traditions to comply with in order to have a great 2019! Do not fall asleep too early Falling asleep before 0.00 a.m. will bring bad luck for the new year, so better party hard and stay awake! Predictions Celebrating New Years Eve is all about making predictions for the upcoming year. A nice Lithuanian party game to predict future goes like: Sit around a table, put a key, a ring, a little glass of water and some money on plates and cover them. Then mix the plates. the ring: you will marry in the new year the water: you will get an alcoholic husband/wife the key: you will move to a new home the money: you will become rich So better choose wisely when celebrating New Years Eve in Lithuania! Fireworks Lithuania is welln known for its excessive (mostly private) fireworks on New Years ...

You will spend Christmas in Lithuania ? Lucky you! It is one of the most special feasts of the calender and we will tell you everything you need to know about it to make it part of your ERASMUS Experience in Lithuania. photo by: Eugenijus Radlinskas from Vilnius, Lithuania, City lights (3168200862) , CC BY 2.0 Preparations Christmas Eve (24th of December) is the most important day of Christmas celebrations . But before everything can start, there is a lot to do. The whole house is cleaned, everyone washes and puts on clean clothes for dinner. The traditional christmas decoration consists of a clean and white tablecloth, candles, straw and fir branches. Sometimes, one spare seat is arranged at the table for the loved ones who died during the year. The feast is normally made with the family. But because Lithuanians are nice people, they also invite those who would stay alone otherwise. The Christmas Dinner ( Kūčios) At the center of the dinner table the...

Welcome to part two of our edition "Fantasy". Today we want to introduce you to the mystical, intriguing world of Dystopia. The name "Dystopia" originates from the Greek and consists of  δυσ- "bad" and τόπος "place; meaning a bad place. Generally spoken there could be one or more features that are labelling the place as "bad". For example social, religious, technological, political or economical rulership and misbehaviour. Hop on our small trip, showing you around the different conceiving and threats of a foreboding future. Dystopia in religion In religion the Dystopian place is an antonym of heaven - for example in Christian mythology hell - everyone, who does not live according to Christianities' rules is sent there; often these places have a cruel ruler in charge - with Christianity it is the devil, a fallen angel.  Another example for those places is the Tartarus in the Greek underworld Hades. A "prominent...

The most wonderful time of the year is coming! Only few days before Christmas we are glad to present you some of the best Christmas markets in Europe! Hot wine, ginger bread and a lot of smiles are just some examples about what you can expect on a Christmas market.   1. Vilnius, Lithuania Did you know that the Christmas tree in Vilnius is the 7th most beautiful one in the world for 2018?! Such a pride for Lithuania! In the heart of the Old town or to be more exactly on the Cathedral Square (mostly known as the meeting point), the whole Christmas market is located around the tree and from above it looks like a watch. A really fascinating view! We as ERASMUS students in Vilnius are very happy having the opportunity to be part of this magic. 2. Tallinn, Estonia The Baltic pearl Tallinn has a cozy Christmas market in the middle of the Old town, right in front of the Town Hall. On the top of the Christmas tree there is a very special and importa...

Since the beginnings of humanity's existence, there has been dreaming, fantasising and conceiving of fantastic, out-earthy places, where in the writer's point of view the grievances and ills that occurred during that time are healed and where every human being would crave to live. Such locations and thoughts about places are described as Utopia. Let us start an imaginative travel through time and explore the world of fantasy! Utopia- what does it mean? The name Utopia stems from the Greek language and consists out of  ο ὐ (not) and     τόπος (place), which by combining both means "no place". Due to the Utopian realm being glorified and just existing in fantasy/science fiction it is clearly stated that an Utopia could never really exist in our world and can happen thus unfortunately in no place. Taking into account the diversity of characters of people, the heterogeneity of ethnic groups inside one state and the variety between ...