A Baltic Christmas Day 20 - Lithuanian Christmas cards

Nomeda Lukoševičienė, her husband Arvydas, and their three children Marius, Tadas, and Lukas have been living in Seattle for the last 17 years. “Even though our family lives far from our homeland, there is absolutely no doubt that we are 100% Lithuanian.” Today on Day Twenty of 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas Nomeda shares some of her handmade creations.

It seems like people await Christmas as if it were the pinnacle of yearly celebrations. I often find myself wondering why that is, and no matter how many times I roll it over in my mind I arrive at the same conclusion; preparing for such a special holiday takes a lot of selfless compassion and kindness, a contagious force that grows stronger as it engulfs others. Decorating the tree, lighting up the house, cooking all the beloved traditional dishes, and of course, spreading the cheer far and wide with Christmas greeting cards!

Days before the eve, dozens of greeting cards would start to show up on the doorstep from every little town in Lithuania. Friends and relatives, greeting and wishing one another such basic but important things; health, serenity, and love. I remember excitedly opening various greetings and appreciating the beautiful cards along with their personal, hand written blessings.

For those who were the closest, we would hand-craft the cards using flowers we picked and dried in the summertime, going the extra mile for the people we really cherish. Our family maintains this tradition to this day! The Lithuanian community members of Seattle all have access to uniquely composed, personal Christmas greeting cards. (That is, if they are too busy with the festivities to make their own)  We are moving into a technologically enhanced era allowing word to spread further and quicker, but nothing compares to the emotional uplift of receiving a dear and loving Christmas card.

Thank you Nomeda! How beautiful to receive such a card in the mail. Your post brings to mind Daina’s mention that the Latvian artist Kalmīte used to send miniature watercolors as Christmas cards; these works of art belong on the wall! You can find more of Nomeda's creations on her website Nomedos Pieva/Nomeda's Meadow. Day 21 of 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas will feature my sister Zinta, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us...