One month until the most magical holiday of the year, the Christmas season is ready to officially begin in Kaunas. On 25 November, a festive tree will be revealed in its traditional place, Town Hall Square, and the Christmas town will begin to bustle.
The city is already decorating itself with festive accents, with cute and cosy Christmas trees lined up on Vilnius Street leading to Town Hall Square. One by one, the windows of cafes, shops and institutions present their festive greetings to passers-by who gladly slow down the pace. In Kaunas, you will find time to do everything - get gifts for each other and yourself, attend festive dinners, sing Christmas carols, and enjoy art. Here are some lovely ideas!
On the festive evening of 25 November, marking the beginning of the festive season, Kaunas will invite everyone to the traditional Christmas tree lighting event. This year, those gathered in the Town Hall Square will read the secrets of the Universe while gazing at the distant constellations and enjoying star wishes with music. This year, the Christmas tree is inspired by the works of M. K. Čiurlionis, Lithuania’s best-known symbolist painter and composer. The celebration will start at 7:30 PM.
A Christmas market, also inspired by the works of Čiurlionis, will spread a special spirit of festive anticipation and enhance the Christmas mood. Workshops, delicatessen pop-ups and Santa’s residence will be set up in cosy spaces next to the constellations of the big tree.
A sneak peek to this year's decorations...
... and a sentiment from previous Christmases in Kaunas. Photos by Kaunas City Municipality
The fairy tale will be enriched by free screenings of the award-winning virtual reality film “Trail of Angels”. A Christmas post office will also be ready to send greetings. Find festive cards in the domes of the Town Hall Square, write a note and drop it in the postbox next to Santa’s residence!
For more information about the road to Christmas and the Christmas period in Kaunas, visit this link.
Those busiest are already buying their gifts at the fair in Akropolis mall. There’s a really wide selection, with all the shops and services under one roof. The pop-up fair is running until 23 December.
On 11 December, the Žalgiris Arena is also hosting a big fair, with as many as 180 makers and producers taking part. On the same weekend, Antras Aukštas Studio will invite visitors to their own cosy gathering in a former monastery on the other side of Karaliaus Mindaugo Avenue.
Those looking for that special, unique, made-in-Lithuania something should also check out Vinvytis Studio fair on 10-11 December. The event space in Petrašiūnai will bring together a couple of dozen of the most interesting Lithuanian brands.
Well, well, we should hurry up a bit here - it’s no secret that nobody has invented a spandex concert hall yet, so tickets for the most anticipated events of the year are getting more scarce every day.
In December, Kaunas will host concerts by local alternative artists such as Ministry of Echology, Baltos Varnos and Superkoloritas, Domantas Razauskas, Saulius Petreikis, as well as Lithuanian pop stars Andrius Mamontovas, Jessica Shy, Saulius Prūsaitis, Monika Liu, Daddy Was A Milkman, Donatas Montvydas and many others.
As every year, the Kaunas State Philharmonic presents the concert series “From Christmas to New Year…” for classical music fans. This means events every day from 26 December to 31 December inclusive! You can try to visit all of them or choose the one you like best.
The first symbols of holidays...
... and the first snow! Photos by Kaunas City Municipality
The European Capital of Culture’s final mega event, the Contract, will take place on 26 November. The whole weekend from 24 to 27 November will be packed with exhibitions, installations, sounds of music, traces of the Kaunas Beast and other cultural gifts. When to catch it all? We don’t know, but we’ve already checked the programme a hundred times! Find it here.
But the last weekend of November is just a symbolic end date for the project. You can still catch a number of special events in the city. Until 4 December, Ukrainian contemporary art will be waiting for you at the Central Post Office. Until the end of the year, see exceptional artists at the Meno Parkas Gallery, Kaunas Photography Gallery, the Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum, the A. and P. Galaunė House-Museum… Looks like all the weekends till the New Year are booked with things to see.
While preparing for the festive season, it’s wise to share with those less fortunate. We probably don’t need to remind you of the opportunities to donate to war-torn Ukraine and the organisations working there. Animal welfare organisations and shelters, the Maltese Soup initiative for the elderly, the Food Bank and other benefactors who work all year round all deserve a Christmas gift. Or maybe this season will be the time to finally become a blood donor? Whatever you decide, we wish you to discover the true magic of giving, the one hidden beyond gold paper and red ribbons.
Photo by Kaunas City Municipality
