#unfortunately lithuania still has a very long way to go in terms of overcoming racism and bigotry

[420pogpills]

next week is pancake day/shrove tuesday and today i want to take a moment to educate everyone on the absolute insanity that takes place in lithuania on this day

in lithuania shrove tuesday is called 'užgavėnės' and it's a folk festival where everyone dresses up as devils, witches, goats, wolves and other animals, or even the grim reaper

we burn a giant effigy named 'morė' and some of them are the size of a normal bonfire and some of them are the size of a watchtower (and sometimes they are hilarious-looking)

there's folk music and dancing and lots of stalls selling snacks and souvenirs and this festival is very symbolic because it's to celebrate the defeat of winter and welcome in the spring

and any kid who grew up in lithuania will tell you it's an absolute ball

#lithuania #uzgavenes #shrove tuesday #pancake day #now disclaimer #i will not deny there are also quite a few problematic behaviours #that take place during this festival #namely in regards to the costumes people wear #i have seen a lot of very inappropriate and insensitive ones #unfortunately lithuania still has a very long way to go in terms of overcoming racism and bigotry #a lot of it sadly just comes from a place of pure ignorance rather than malice #but although i am a proud lithuanian #i definitely know we are far from perfect #i've lost count of how many arguments i've had with people back home #who try to defend their behaviour but i have none of it #but i do my best. #it's a very generational issue what i fully blame the former USSR for #but that's a history lesson for another day #not mcyt