CHRISTMAS - "KALEDOS
	"Kaledos", the Lithuanian Christmas, unlike the merrymaking in some other countries, is a Holiday of quiet joy and hope: on that day Christ was born, and the longest night began to give way to day and light.
Weeks of Advent fasting and contemplation are crowned by the Eve of Christmas. By that time, everything , in city and country, was made immaculate. The homes were cleaned thoroughly, and holiday foods filled the house with tantalizing aromas. After the chores were done, members of the family scrubbed in the "pirtis" (steam bath) and donned holiday garb. Even the trees in the orchard received a new wardrobe - were bound with a fresh yellow straw.
Eve of Christmas was, in the past a day of strict fasting. People restrained from eating until the first star shone in the sky - the sign that the abstinence may be broken. Impatient children will run in and out of the house looking for that star.
The most important event is the Christmas Eve Supper. The table is covered with a hand loomed snowy linen cloth reserved for the occasion, under which is placed sweet, fresh hay, a reminder of how the Christ Child was born. A crucifix and a plate of "plotkeles" (blessed Christmas wafers) are placed in the center of the table. The family sits at the table according to age, the oldest at the table head, the youngest at its foot. In many homes, one seat is left vacant for an unexpected guest symbolic of Christ. Families invite single people to partake of the meal, for it is felt no one should be alone on this day.
When the evening star appears in the sky, the head of the family begins the meal with a prayer of thanksgiving for past blessings, and a wish that the family remain intact during the coming year. He breaks and shares the holy wafers with each member of the family, and they, in turn, with each other. All wish each other good luck, good health, a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
After this ceremony the meal begins. No less than twelve dishes must be served, all meatless (to commemorate the twelve Apostles).
Some of the dishes served would be salty herring, for the distasteful things to come; dry peas, in the shape of tears, for the sad things in life; prunes, representing the rough and difficult road we must travel; bread to signify plenitude of sustenance during the coming year; fish (usually whiting) to signify Christ as represented by the first Christians in the catechumes; boiled potatoes to signify the humble and uneventful lives we must be ready to lead; sauerkraut, representing the good and bad we must accept; sweet wine for the sweetness and joy experienced by the coming of Christ.  Also served is a special red beet soup, usually with pastries stuffed with mushrooms called "auseles"(little ears).
A specialty, served only once a year on Christmas Eve, is the oatmeal pudding.  Another specialty is the "aguonu pienas" (poppy seed milk), served with small, round doughballs. This "milk" is prepared by grinding the scalded poppy seeds and mixing them with water, honey and nuts.
Coffee, fruit and nuts terminate the meal. Children receive individual plates heaped with apples, nuts, figs, candies, etc.
After the supper, the most exciting event for the little ones begins.  It is the presentation of the Christmas Tree.  Usually it is the father who goes into the room to light the candles.  Mother and children come to the locked door and knock on it.  They start singing a carol.  If father is ready he will open the door; if not, another carol will be requested. The Christmas tree in Lithuania usually was old-fashioned having decorations that included red-cheeked apples, candies, gilded nuts, cookies, etc.  In the country, delicate, intricate straw decorations were made.  From wheat and rye chandeliers, baskets, Christmas bells, chains, and an infinite variety of fanciful forms were created.  The Christmas stocking is practically unknown in Lithuania.
It is believed that at midnight on Christmas all the water in the rivers, streams, lakes and wells would change to wine, but only for a second.  Also, the belief is that at midnight the animals would begin to speak.  It was cautioned though, that those who would make it a point to listen to the speaking animals would hear the details of their own death.
Some of the hay that was placed on the "Kucios" table is given to the animals to eat, but none to the horses, because as tradition has it, the horse did not warm the Infant Christ in the stable at Bethlehem as did the other animals.
I In some sections of Lithuania, the "Kucia" table is not cleared of food, lest the Christ Child and His Mother visit during the night.  It is also believed that the souls of deceased members of the family might return briefly - and they must find a hospitable table.  The floor is carefully swept so there will not be even a crumb on which a visitor might stumble.
After "Kucios", each member of the family places a straw for every kind deed or gracious word said during the holidays into a cradle which is put under the Christmas tree for the Christ Child.
With the traditions completed, the entire family from the youngest to the oldest goes together to "Berneliu Misios" (literally the Shepherd  Boys' Mass) the first Mass of Christmas at midnight, with the entire village to greet the Newborn Christ.  After this joyous celebration, all return home to share a lavish breakfast.
The festivities of the Christmas season last until the Twelfth Night, January 6th, called the Day of the Three Kings in Lithuania.  On that day, Christmas trees are usually taken down.
(This story courtesy of Council 144, Anthracite,PA,  "Lithuanian Customs and Other Ethnic Cookery,  1968- 1994 by Circulation Service Inc., Leawood, KS.)
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