Lifestyle and Culture in Lithuania
You would probably easily find words to describe many nations, e.g. the romantic French, the aristocratic English, the disciplined and rational Germans, or the hot-tempered Italians. But what could you say about Lithuanians? For this, you should have a deeper look into their lifestyle – culture, customs and traditions, religion, love for sports, eating and drinking habits, time-spending style and entertainments. The country of Lithuania enjoys celebrating all aspects of life and its traditions by holding festivals.
Although it is traditionally held in the spring, there are also concerts given in autumn and just before Christmas. Can’t decide between music and culture festivals? Why not combine the two in the Vilnius Festivals.
Lithuania has a lot to offer for your leisure - from going out and joining all the people who crowd various pubs and bars after lectures/work, to learning how to snowboard in the biggest in-doors skiing facility in Druskininkai, or visiting one of exhilarating tree-top adventure parks.
There are lots of international students focused events, especially in the beginning of the term, which are the best way to get to know other students and make local friends. Apart from going out, being compact in size Lithuania is convenient for domestic tourism - we have vast areas secured for national parks, where you can hike special trails, kayak, or bike. If you are into more extreme ventures - maybe something like air ballooning other the tree tops, paint-ball in deserted army polygons or wakeboarding will be among things you will experience first in Lithuania. Like in many countries, Lithuanians spend much of their free time eating, watching TV, reading and enjoying music.
Most men also like to follow sports while women generally prefer fashion. Despite the rapid advances of foreign cuisines in restaurants, Lithuanians still prefer their own Lithuanian cuisine at home. Most Lithuanian women and some men know how to prepare its key dishes well. On average, Lithuanians spend 3,5hours per day at a TV screen. This makes key actors and TV personalities to be household names. Lithuanians watch mostly local TV shows, mostly foreign movies (although Lithuanian cinema made a comeback) and both foreign and local TV series. Cinemas are less popular, but theater is glorified as a great art.
Lithuanians love to watch how their own sportsmen defend their "national glory" - but tend to care little about foreign sportsmen even when they are much better. While sport is more popular among men, many women also follow the key events. Lithuanian fashion trends largely imitates that of the West, although some women subcultures prefers a more glitzy style.
