New Year
Description:
Christmas in Lithuania is a purely family holiday and it is not accepted to invite guests or visit here. But on the New Year, the whole country pours out on the streets - restaurants and cafes are open all night, people congratulate each other on the holiday, kiss and drink champagne with friends and just passers-by. In 2003, an elegant spruce on display in Vilnius Town Hall Square was recognized as the most beautiful European Christmas tree.
And in December 2004, the TV tower, whose height is 326 meters, was turned into the main symbol of the New Year. From the highest point of the TV tower, garlands of colorful electric light bulbs descended in straight rows to its foot. Their total length is fifteen kilometers. A new lighthouse was installed on the mast, which was lit by Santa Claus, represented by the mayor of Vilnius Arturas Zuokas. At the base of the tower are equipped with a stage, where in the pre-holiday period concerts of Lithuanian masters of art were held, a real Bethlehem was equipped. The museum of folk life borrowed a nursery with hay, and from the Kaunas zoo brought a donkey and four lambs.
In December 2005, an unusual Christmas tree was installed in the central square of Vilnius, instead of a living tree, a structure was built on a metal frame, to which spruce branches were attached. Special ladders are attached to the tree, and citizens and tourists can admire the tree not only from the outside, but also from the inside. However, they are allowed into the Christmas tree only on weekends, so those who wish to visit the Christmas tree have to stand in line. Entrance to the tree is free.
In the parks of Vingis and Kalno, on the Cathedral and Town Hall squares are arranged New Year concerts, pyrotechnic performances using special effects. Traditional classical music concerts are given at the National Philharmonic, Opera and Ballet Theatre, the Palace of Congresses and the Church of St. Yono.