Lietuvos istorijos institutas

In this article, I seek to reveal the culinary traditions of Christmas Eve [Lith. Kūčios] dinner tables among Vilnius-dwellers, analysing the issue from the following aspects: Kūčios as a Christmas Eve cultural particularity in Lithuania and the classification of festive dishes; formation of the Kūčios dinner table among Vilnius-dwellers and villages in the Vilnius surroundings in the early 20th century and the ethnic specifics of Kūčių dishes; the uniqueness of Lithuanian Vilnius-dwellers’ Kūčių dinner tables in the early 21st century and changes during the quarantine period in 2020. This research showed that the Lithuanian Kūčios culinary tradition is still maintained in Vilnius, and that the hierarchical-value structure of festive dishes differs from neighbouring countries.