A Baltic Christmas Day 24 - Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!

Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus! Linksmų Kalėdų! Häid jõule! May your holidays be warm and bright, and may the New Year bring health and happiness!!!

I’m very grateful to everyone who contributed to this series; in the form of posts, photographs, illustrations and ideas. As to the readers, the friends who commented and translated, and those who put me in contact with bloggers and authors all over the world, a heartfelt thank you as the series would not have been a success without you. On this final day of 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas a review of all the wonderful contributions we’ve seen this month.

   

We kicked off the series with countdowns to Christmas and a look at different Advent traditions. On day 2, Elga Ozols with a humorous piece on the žagari-wielding Latvian Santa of old and his evil counterparts across the globe.

On the third day of a Baltic Christmas Lelde of Dabas Mamma demonstrated how to bring snow indoors with whimsical feather snowballs, and then on day 4 Imanta from travelivenjoy joined up with a post on the Latvian budeļi tradition.

The fifth day of a Baltic Christmas brought not one, but two piparkūku recipes from Chicago pavāre Inga Lucāne! Aren’t we the lucky ones? On day 6, the 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas gift guide.

Zinta from Zinta Aistars: On a Writer's Journey joined us on day 7, with the memoir "Christmas, how it was, how it will be." And on day 8 Tania Lestal (Estonia - Paradise of the North) introduced us to an Estonian Christmas, sharing the family traditions that make her Christmas special.

Day 9: Daina of Latvian-American Adventures and Opinions with some truly fantastic Latvian Christmas cards and a look into the tradition of exchanging cards. Then we finally traveled south to Lithuania on day 10 for Daiva’s look at the Lithuanian holiday with her post “Kucios: The Connection Between the Dead and Living.”

On day 11 the recipe for Rosolje á la Polli Talu from author Marika Blossfeldt, a colorful salad that would make a great addition to every holiday spread! The next day on day 12 we had professor Guntis Šmidchens and a fascinating look at the song “Silent Night” in all three Baltic languages with his contribution “We’re not singing the same song, but we are.”

The thirteenth day of 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas saw a return to Latvia with Sandra’s (of Dusty Hiking Boots) recipe for zaķu austiņas, the fried Christmas cookie that will have you doubling the recipe every time. Then on day 14 Laima showed off the Latvian Christmas tree decorations that make an appearance in almost every Latvian home.

Day15 gave us ideas on how to bring nature indoors in our holiday decorations, as well as provided instructions on how to make a pinecone birdfeeder. However the ultimate Baltic DIY project came on day 16, with Inga’s post on puzuri.

Next: a recipe from Beatos virtuve on day 17, followed by Heather Garbes on Latvian Christmas music for day 18.

We attended the Kalnaciems Christmas Market with Marianna of Hello, Latvia on day 19. Then on day 20 Nomeda Lukoševičienė of Nomedos Pieva/Nomeda's Meadow shared some of her gorgeous handmade Christmas cards.

My sister Zinta showed us that Latvian auseklīši can be found everywhere this time of year on day 21, and on day 22 June of My Food Odyssey shared her recipe for Lithuanian Christmas Eve Biscuits Kūčiukai.

Finally, Heather from Ferreting out the Fun finished off the series on day 23 with a look at this year’s Christmas scene in Rīga and Talinn.

  

On the 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas pinterest board you'll find all these articles pinned, and more - there are plenty of Baltic-inspired holiday pins for you to peruse. 

Follow Liene's board 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas on Pinterest.

I hope you enjoyed this holiday countdown to a Baltic Christmas as much as I did. Maybe you learned something, or tried a new recipe for an old favorite. Possibly you got the kids to join in making a Baltic craft, or maybe your day was brightened by a laugh or some holiday tunes. However you may have joined in the fun, I hope you found true Christmas spirit every day here on Femme au Foyer, and I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year.

x Femme au Foyer