Christmas
Lithuanian Christmas traditions are a combination of old and new and
Christian and pagan, and they have similarities with traditions from the
other two Baltic nations, as well as with the traditions of Poland,
whose past is linked with Lithuania's.
In pagan Lithuania, the Christmas celebration as we know it today was
actually the celebration of the winter solstice. Roman Catholics, the
predominant religious population in Lithuania, gave new meaning to old
customs or introduced new ways to celebrate the religious holiday. For
example, some people say the practice of placing hay underneath the
tablecloth on Christmas Eve predates the introduction of Christianity to
Lithuania, though now obvious parallels can be drawn between hay on the
Christmas table and the hay in the manger where Jesus was born.
( http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/lithuaniatravel/a/lithuaniachristmastraditions.htm )_
( http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/lithuaniatravel/a/lithuaniachristmastraditions.htm )_