About Lithuania
Lithuania is a country located at the southern most of Europe’s Baltic states, a former Soviet bloc nation that borders Poland, Latvia and Belarus. The capital, Vilnius, lies in the southwestern part of the country at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers. Vilnius has been the capital since the fourteenth century, except for the period from 1919 to 1939 during Poland's annexation of southern Lithuania, when it was temporarily moved to Kaunas.
The country is divided into four regions: Aukštaitija, the highlands in the northeast and central portion of the country; Žemaitija, the lowlands in the west, stretching from the Baltic coast to the Nevėžis river; Dzūkija, in the southeast; and Suvalkija, in the southwest. The climate is maritime along the coast and continental in other areas. The physical environment varies from sandy terrain spotted with pine trees on the coast and the Curonian Spit, to flatlands and low, rolling hills farther inland. There are more than eight thousand lakes, mostly in the uplands.
Life in Lithuania
- Languages: Lithuanian (Official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other 0.9%, unspecified 3.5% (2011 est.)
- Ethnicity / Race: Lithuanian 84.1%, Polish 6.6%, Russian 5.8%, Belarusian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.2% (2011 est.)
- Currency: Euro
- Population: Three (3) Million people
- Religion: Roman Catholic (the dominating religion in the nation), followed by the Russian Orthodox
Lithuanian Public Holidays:
| 1st Jan | New Year’s Day |
| 16th Feb | The Day of the Restoration of the state of Lithuania |
| 11th March | The Day of the Restoration of Independence of Lithuania |
| EASTER | The First Sunday and Monday after the first full moon after the spring equinox |
| 1st May | International Labor Day |
| 24th June | St. John's Day [Christian name], Day of Dew [original pagan name] traditions. (aka: Midsummer Day, Saint Jonas Day) |
| 6th July | Day of the State -Coronation of King Mindaugas (Statehood Day) |
| 15th Aug | Assumption Mary Day |
| 1st Nov | All Saints’ Day |
| 25th & 26th Dec | Christmas |
