Culture of Lithuania

Various cultural changes occurred throughout Lithuania's transformation from a country occupied by the Soviet Union to an independent Baltic state.

The culture of Lithuania can be divided into five ethnographic regions: Dzūkija, Žemaitija, Aukštaitija, Suvalkija and Mažoji Lietuva.

Lithuanians are usually divided into 5 groups: Samogitians, Sudovians, Aukštaitians, Dzūkians and Lietuvininkai,[2] although the Lietuvinikai are nearly extinct.

Lithuanian, an Indo-European language, closely resembles ancient Sanskrit, and is written using the Latin alphabet.

Schools, churches, courts, and newspapers faced heavy penalties if Latin text were to be displayed during these years, with violators even exiled to Siberia.

[5] Since the Christianization of parts of Lithuania proper in 1387 and of Samogitia in 1413, the majority of Lithuanians have been members of the Roman Catholic Church.

[7] Catholicism played a significant role in Lithuanian anti-communist resistance under the Soviet Union.

Nevertheless, it has its own distinguishing features, which were formed by a variety of influences during the country's long and difficult history.

The most exotic of all the influences is Eastern (Crimean Karaites) cuisine, and the dishes kibinai and čeburekai are popular in Lithuania.

Some traditional meals are didžkukuliai (also called cepelinai) - potato dumplings, šaltibarščiai - cold borscht (beetroot soup), juoda duona - dark rye bread, balandėliai - stuffed cabbage rolls, bulviniai blynai - potato pancakes, gira - kvass (fermented rye bread drink), and lašiniai - smoked fatback.

His symphonic compositions, Jūra ("The sea") and Miške ("In the forest"), were the first full-length pieces from a Lithuanian musician.

The Grūtas Park contains Soviet-era relics and statues including those of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

[citation needed] Lithuania has a long history of folk, popular and classical musical development.

Another style of Lithuanian folk music is called rateliai, a kind of round dance.

Sutartinė is accompanied by the skudučiai, a form of panpipes played by a group of people, as well as wooden trumpets (ragai and dandytės).

The kanklės is an extremely important folk instrument, which differs in the number of strings and performance techniques across the country.

In the 1980s, rock bands Foje, Antis, and Bix made a big impact in Lithuania.

[16] A popular Lithuanian film classic is Velnio Nuotaka, which is based upon folk tales.

Oskaras Koršunovas is another acclaimed contemporary director, producing musicals, studio performances, and plays, including Hamlet and Midsummer Night's Dream.

[20] Discus throw Olympic athlete Virgilijus Alekna is a two-time gold winner and medalist.

The country has produced several world-class basketball players, such as Arvydas Sabonis, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas and Linas Kleiza.

Forty percent of Lithuania's population live in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Alytus, Panevėžys, and Šiauliai.