Christmas during the Interwar Period and Today
Christmas in Interwar Kaunas
As winter approaches, Kaunas lights up with Christmas decorations and a special festive bustle fills the city. People hurry through the streets, take care of gifts, admire the city’s beauty, and wait for that magical night. But is the Christmas rush only a modern phenomenon? Not at all. For many years now, Kaunas has offered Christmas-themed tours before the major winter holidays, led by local guides. Their stories about Christmas a hundred years ago are surprisingly similar to what we experience today.
Shops – the first heralds of Christmas
No one announces the arrival of Christmas faster than retailers. Today, we are used to hearing about Christmas as early as the beginning of November. During the interwar period, when Kaunas was the capital, the festive season began somewhat later – around mid-December. Yet the advertisements were strikingly similar. Even a century ago, Kaunas residents did not hesitate to spend money on gifts for their loved ones, and retailers went to great lengths to attract as many customers as possible.
The most desirable gift was a radio receiver. One advertisement proclaimed: “Christmas is joyful only when Siera Radio is playing.” Radios were depicted hanging from Christmas trees or placed in Santa Claus’ sleigh. Newspapers were filled with glowing images of families gathered around their new radio sets. How could anyone resist such a gift?
The press also offered advice on what gentlemen should give their beloved ladies: “What could please a woman more than a beautiful cosmetics case containing perfume, powder, lotion, cream, face and lipstick? It costs relatively little and is always useful”. newspapers claimed. Popular Christmas gifts also included food, sweets, socks, gloves, hats, and handbags. Even a hundred years ago, sellers knew perfectly well that Christmas was a profitable season.
Tables bending under the weight of food
Lavishly setting the festive table is in our blood. The tradition of twelve dishes on Christmas Eve was strong even during the interwar period. Herring with onions, tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, various salads, fish, compotes, poppy seed milk, and poppy seed cakes all adorned the Christmas Eve table then, just as they do today. A popular custom was to leave the table uncleared overnight – it was believed that the spirits would visit and should be offered food.
On Christmas Day families brought out their finest dishes and served meat-based meals. Sausages, hams, bacon, geese, ducks, roasts – everything depended on the family’s financial means. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Christmas – the wedding season
There were differences too. Today in Lithuania, the wedding season usually takes place in summer, when the weather is warm and pleasant. In the interwar period, however, the most popular time to marry was winter, shortly after Christmas. The reason was simple and practical – leftover festive food could be used for the wedding table. As a result, priests were often extremely busy on the second day of Christmas, marrying numerous couples. The press praised such weddings as an economically sensible decision.
Shop windows creating the festive mood
If we were to travel back to interwar Kaunas in December, we would immediately notice a difference – the city was not lavishly decorated for Christmas. There are no historical sources confirming the existence of a main city Christmas tree. Decorations were usually limited to private homes. The capital was typically decorated only for national holidays. As a result, the festive atmosphere in the city was largely maintained by retailers decorating their shop windows.
There were even debates about Christmas trees during the interwar period. Skeptics argued that tree decorating was a Germanic tradition and that Lithuanians should not follow foreign traditions. However, the fashion spread so quickly that no protests could stop Christmas trees from becoming a part of Lithuanian homes. Today, festively decorated cities and homes are an inseparable part of winter – and this tradition was born precisely during the interwar period.
Experience interwar Christmas for yourself
If you would like not only to read these stories but to truly experience them, we invite you to take a walk through festively decorated Kaunas with a guide. This journey will reveal what townspeople ate, how they decorated their homes, and what gifts children dreamed of. A festive atmosphere is guaranteed.
Book your adventure here: Christmas in Interwar Kaunas tour
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