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We always end the year with 12 dishes on the table – this is the most important tradition of the Kūčios dinner that we eat on Christmas Eve. The 12 dishes symbolise the months of the year, and we invite the people who are closest to us to partake of them on Christmas Eve – we cover the table with a white tablecloth with a handful of fine hay underneath it, and eat everything that nature gives us: grains, seeds and nuts, dried fruit, fish and vegetables. The most important dishes on the Kūčios table are kūčia – a boiled cereal dish with dried fruit and honey, and kūčiukai – sweet nuggets made from leavened dough and served with poppy seed milk. You won’t find any meat, dairy products or eggs though – the old tradition encourages fasting.

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It’s as vegan as it gets! Poppyseed milk is made by soaking poppy seeds in hot water, grinding them, then adding more water and a little sugar. It goes well with baked dishes and kūčiukai, which are traditionally soaked in poppy seed milk and then eaten with a spoon. You might not find it readily available in supermarkets, but get a bag of poppy seeds and try making it at home. It’s easy!

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Recipe:
https://www.govilnius.lt/api/files/5fc921a3dbc246847a316389/K%C5%AB%C4%8Diukai_recipe.pdf
Literally “Christmas Eve cookies” in Lithuanian, you can purchase these small bits of dough with poppy seeds in any supermarket. The recipe is vegan and in local homes they’re baked before Christmas Eve dinner in copious amounts and then consumed over the course of a few weeks until everyone’s sure they won’t miss them until next Christmas. They are usually eaten with poppy seed milk or a cranberry drink.

You can also perform some Christmas Eve magic – grab a handful of kūčiukai and count them. If the number is even, you’ll find a partner or get married in the next year.

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Recipe:
https://www.govilnius.lt/api/files/5fc92196ccf8965545c81ecb/Kissel_recipe.pdf
Both a drink and a dessert, Spanguolių kisielius is prepared with crushed cranberries, water and a bit of starch for thickness. It can be served hot or cold, depending on your preference. To taste the real thing you should cook it at home, but sometimes you might find it in the supermarkets.

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Every family has their own special recipe, but considering the fast pace of life, some just buy the dumplings at the supermarket. They are usually vegan and easy to prepare. Depending on how you cook them, the dumplings might even serve as savoury little pies.

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It’s fair to say that no Christmas Eve dinner table is complete without herring. It comes in many forms, but is mostly bought from stores or markets and prepared using family recipes. Try it for a taste of what locals have at festive dinners – you’re sure to see herring in all of its glorious forms at the supermarkets. By the way, if you have a lot of salty herring during dinner, place a cup of water by your bed. Legend has it that whoever hands you the cup in your dream that night will become your future spouse.