It is so genuine that you can hardly believe it without seeing it with your own eyes. Lithuania's Kaziukas Fair is like an undiscovered, undisrupted island in the huge ocean of 'plastic commercialism' that unfortunately characterizes so much of our today’s fairs, markets and festivals.

The crowds around and between the numerous sales booths are an important

As for what you can expect to see on the streets of Lithuania’s cities this weekend, think first of all of arts and crafts. Craftsmen from all over Lithuania and neighbouring countries flood the streets with their original creations. Here you can buy woodwork, paintings, jewellery, pottery and pretty much everything else you can think of, both in traditional forms and contemporary designs. 

The Kaziukas Fair is a declared

The Kaziukas Fair is not only a place to sell. It’s a place to find new contacts, build relationships with the Vilnius galleries and, of course, to have fun meeting all the craftsmen and exchanging ideas. So take some extra coin, jump into some warm clothes, and off you go to the Kaziukas Fair, be it the one in Vilnius Old Town, or in any other Lithuanian city.

During more ancient times many pilgrims came to Vilnius from various Lithuanian places for the celebration of St. Casimir's Day on the 4^th of March,. After services in the cathedral, the people lingered for a while. And it was this that gave rise to the Kaziukas Fair. Thousands of sellers, buyers and visitors came to these fairs. They were held outdoors. The most typical Kaziukas Fair merchandise is the Vilniaus verbos. These are various dried flowers and grasses braided together into typical Lithuanian designs and tied to short sticks; they are taken to church on Palm Sunday and later used to decorate the home.

Another typical Kaziukas Fair product or muginukas, is a heart- shaped honey cookie, decorated with coloured sugar flowers, zigzags, dots and birds. People buy and give them to selected loved ones.

Let me say it again: Check with your travel agent, maybe there still are available airline tickets.

I can help you with good hotel deals…

Here is a video from last year’s Kaziukas Fair:

The most typical Kaziukas Fair merchandise is the Vilniaus verbos. 

These are various dried flowers and grasses braided together into typical 

Lithuanian designs and tied to short sticks; they are taken to church on

SAINT CASIMIR

The young prince, Casimir,

St. Casimir, Lithuania’s only saint, is celebrated on the 4^th of March (his death day). This celebration is the origin of the nation’s annual Kaziukas Fair.

After his death, St. Casimir was so cherished by Lithuanians that stories of his life and miracles quickly went beyond the church walls and spread through the population and became tales and legends, hence no wonder that he has been so much remembered and celebrated, since the 17^th Century primarily through the Kaziukas Fair.  

St. Casimir was a true Lithuanian by birth, descending from the famous and respected Gediminaitis clan. The Lithuanian grand dukes Kestutis, Algirdas, Vytautas the Great and others belonged to this family. St. Casimir's father was Kazimieras Jogailaitis who ruled Lithuania (later along with Poland) from 1447.

Kazimieras Jogailaitis married the daughter of Emperor Albrecht II, descended from the Habsburg family. They had six sons and six daughters. Casimir was the second son, born in 1458. He was renowned for a life of great piety, good works and virtue. Upon contracting tuberculosis, he died at the age of 25 on the 4^th of March 1484 in the city of Gardinas. He was buried in Vilnius.

Shortly after his death, people started coming in large numbers to visit the holy prince's tomb and pray for intercession with God. His body was associated with numerous miracles and blessings from God. The process to canonize (declare a saint) St. Casimir was begun soon after his death, but for various reasons was delayed until 7 November 1602 when Pope Clement VIII officially proclaimed St. Casimir's feast on the church calendar. It was believed that Casimir had been canonized by Pope Leo X (before 1521) and that Clement VIII merely officially confirmed the fact.

People appealed to their saint at times of various misfortunes. His first miracle is considered to have been his apparition in 1518 at the Dauguva River during the war with Moscow. A large Russian army had assembled and threatened the city of Polotsk. A rather small force of Lithuanians stood to defend the city and fortress. The Lithuanians had to cross the swollen Dauguva River. Unable to find other help, they prayed to the saintly prince to intercede. St. Casimir is said to have appeared to the Lithuanians astride a white horse, wearing a white cloak. He urged the army to fight and rode first into the roaring river. The Lithuanians followed his example, fought fiercely and defeated Moscow's troops. The news of the prince's miraculous apparition and the victory spread throughout the country. The miracle was investigated by bishops of that time and confirmed as authentic. The very fact that St. Casimir came to help in a battle against Lithuania's eternal enemy Moscow elevated him even higher in the eyes of the Lithuanians. The saint became a symbol of the fight against the Russians and Russian Orthodoxy.

Such veneration, so closely linked to anti-Russian feelings, did not go unnoticed by Russia which often occupied Vilnius. Whenever the Russians approached the city, St. Casimir's relics were hidden and taken outside the city; after the danger had passed they were again returned to the church. The Russians made every effort to prevent St. Casimir's veneration; they banned his feast, but were unable to squash the people's enthusiasm. Thousands gathered annually on the 4^th of March to pray at the tomb of their beloved saint.

St. Casimir’s Church in the centre of Vilnius is the oldest