WBread and salt is a welcome greeting ceremony in some Slavic, Nordic, Baltic, Balkan and other European cultures as well as in Middle Eastern cultures. The tradition, known by local Slavic names was also adopted by three non-Slavic nations — Lithuanians, Latvians and Romanians (Romance) — all three of which are culturally and historically close to their Slavic neighbours. It is also common in Albania, Armenia, the Jewish diaspora, and the Middle East. This tradition has also been observed in spaceflight.
WChristmas wafer is a Polish Catholic Christmas tradition celebrated mostly in Poland and also in parts of Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia during Wigilia on December 24.
WKūčios or Kūtės is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania, held on the twenty fourth of December. The meal is a family occasion which includes many traditions of both pagan and Christian origin. Some traditions are no longer widespread and usually Lithuanians just enjoy dinner with relatives and friends while the main events and festivities are left for Christmas Day.
WMorė is one of the main effigies and attributes of the traditional Lithuanian folk festival Užgavėnės. It is an artificial woman (čiūčiala), stuffed with various materials, who is ultimately burned in a bonfire.
WA parish festival or parish fair or indulgence feast are local annual festivals held by Roman Catholic churches in Poland and Lithuania on a feast day of the patron saint of a given parish. Many of the festivals have long historic traditions that date back to the Counter-Reformation in the 16–17th centuries. Almost every parish has such festival with some churches having several. Participants in these festivals can receive indulgences for themselves and their dead relatives. The festivals include masses, religious processions, performances by church choirs, other music performances and are often accompanied by traditional craft markets. The feasts reinforce local identity and foster a sense of community. Some of the larger festivals, like the Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival, last for a week, attract thousands of people, and are major pilgrimage events.
WPoppy milk is a traditional Lithuanian drink or soup, one of the 12-dishes Christmas Eve Supper Kūčios. Usually it is eaten together with kūčiukai, another traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dish. It is also an ingredient in kutya a meal served during a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve Feast. This drink is considered a dessert.
WA twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper is traditionally prepared to commemorate Jesus' twelve disciples in Central, Northern and Eastern European cultures, especially those that were formerly part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and neighbouring countries. The tradition is especially cultivated in modern-day Poland, where alternatively thirteen meatless dishes on Christmas Eve are sometimes served.