{"id":44828,"date":"2025-11-19T15:57:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T13:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/?p=44828"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:59:07","slug":"vilnius-the-official-christmas-capital-of-europe-2025-continuing-traditions-and-innovations-presented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/vilnius-the-official-christmas-capital-of-europe-2025-continuing-traditions-and-innovations-presented\/","title":{"rendered":"Vilnius \u2013 the Official Christmas Capital of Europe 2025: Continuing Traditions and Innovations Presented"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vilnius, titled the official Christmas Capital of Europe 2025, has presented\u00a0<\/strong>its program of events<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for the festive season. Waiting for Christmas in the city will begin with the lighting of a natural Christmas tree in Cathedral Square, the opening of the skating rink in the Town Hall Square, events in the neighbourhoods inviting neighbours to gather, and the most Christmas-like day of all will take the residents and visitors of Vilnius back to their childhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The presentation of the program was accompanied by the traditional gathering of Santa Clauses \u2013 more than a dozen Santa Clauses from Lithuania and abroad gathered in Cathedral Square next to the Christmas tree that had just begun to be erected. By signing a declaration, they confirmed that Christmas will indeed take place, and Vilnius, which has become the Christmas capital of Europe, has made sure that the festive season will be truly impressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we prepare to welcome the most wonderful holidays of the year, we invite the entire continent to come and experience the unique Christmas spirit in our city, and we wish our residents to enjoy this special season. The whole city will be decorated with classic aesthetics, forest motifs and abundant lights, and the main Christmas tree in Vilnius, with its timeless image, will stand proudly on a specially designed structure this year, which will be like a red carpet for anyone who wants to take a walk or take a photo,\u201d said Simona Bieli\u016bn\u0117, the Vice Mayor of Vilnius.<\/p>\n

For the third year in a row, Vilnius is decorated with a natural spruce tree, which was donated to the city by residents of Pagiriai, Vilnius District, this year. The image of the Christmas tree is being taken care of by the winner of the competition, i.e. the company Lumid\u0117ja.<\/p>\n

The capital will announce the start of the festive season on the last Saturday of November, on 29 November at 7.00 p.m. The Vilnius Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which began at 7.30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on LRT.<\/p>\n

A renewed Christmas village and long-standing traditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year \u201cChristmas in the Capital\u201d programme is full of new features that fit perfectly with the traditional events that Vilnius residents have come to love. This was named by the international commission as one of the main reasons why Vilnius was awarded the title of Christmas Capital of Europe 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, the renewed Christmas village in the Cathedral Square will welcome visitors with more space and greater convenience. The festive mood will be enhanced and the village spaces enriched by an iconic two-storey carousel brought directly from Italy, inviting visitors to rediscover the wonders of childhood,\u201d says Paulius Jurgutis, Director of Vilnius Culture Centre, which organises the festival \u201cChristmas in the Capital\u201d.<\/p>\n

This year, Vilnius residents will be encouraged to do good deeds by the 23rd<\/sup>\u00a0International Christmas Charity Fair at the Contemporary Art Centre and the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0annual Maltese Soup campaign. The Christmas Design Square will also return to Vincas Kudirka Square, where more than 60 designers and creators from Lithuania and abroad will present their handmade gifts.<\/p>\n

For the third year in a row, communities throughout Vilnius will be invited to get together for Neighbours\u2019 Christmas \u2013 a minibus with free treats will visit a different city district every day from 30 November, and festive events will be held. The Christmas decorations in the city and the locations of lit Christmas trees in the districts can be found on \u201cNeakivaizdinis Vilnius\u201d maps.<\/p>\n

A responsible approach to the most beautiful winter holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

The title of European Green Capital 2025, which has accompanied Vilnius throughout the year, is subtly woven into the winter holiday program. One of the main sustainable highlights is the introduction of a deposit-refund system for reusable containers in the Christmas village and near the skating rink.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been developing his decision for several years, and this year\u2019s titles of Vilnius Green European Capital and the European Christmas Capital oblige us to make a real change. Therefore, the deposit system that will be in place in the Christmas village and at \u201cVilnius Ice\u201d will allow us to welcome the festive season not only in a brighter but also in a more sustainable way,\u201d says S. Bieli\u016bn\u0117.<\/p>\n

The container deposit system will operate on a simple \u201ctake it, use it, return it\u201d principle. When purchasing drinks, visitors will pay an additional deposit of EUR 2 for each cup, which will be refunded when they return the used cup to one of the collection points. The collection points will be located in the Christmas village in the Cathedral Square and in the Town Hall Square near the skating rink.<\/p>\n

Similar deposit systems are already common at various events in Europe and are considered modern and effective in reducing the impact on climate change.<\/p>\n

Brand new entertainment loved by Vilnius residents<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Vilnius Ice<\/a>\u00a0skating rink, which surprised Vilnius residents last year, will be back in the Town Hall Square this year and will be open from 30 November to 1 February. There will be free skating sessions every day, and during Christmas and on the New Year\u2019s Eve, the skating rink and the nearby shopping village will be open longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the first season of the skating rink in the Town Hall Square, more than 40,000 people tried out the ice, and the free morning skating sessions became a real discovery for many. We are delighted to be back in the heart of the old town this year with a clear goal \u2013 to bring winter back to the capital together with the residents of Vilnius and visitors to the city and to ensure that winter entertainment in Vilnius is accessible to everyone,\u201d says Gintas Teslia, Head of Active Vilnius.<\/p>\n

Other Christmas season entertainment includes a train ride through the Old Town, the 50th<\/sup>\u00a0Christmas Run, the Green Capital march through Vilnius, the New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations in the Cathedral Square, and a theatrical Three Kings parade to crown the festive events programme.<\/p>\n

Throughout December, a free festive bus will run on a special route around Christmas-themed Vilnius, presented by the municipal enterprise JUDU and Vilnius Public Transport. Festive choir concerts will also be held on public transport in the run-up to Christmas.<\/p>\n

The most Christmas-like day will take you back to your childhood<\/strong><\/p>\n

The title of Christmas Capital of Europe has inspired the creation of what may become a new festive tradition in Vilnius \u2013 bringing together the capital\u2019s residents and visitors for a day to wait for Christmas with the city. The first Vilnius Christmas Day is expected to attract not only many participants, but also international attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Christmas, we invite everyone to come to magical Vilnius and feel like they are five years old again. On Saturday, 13 December, the most Christmas-like day in Vilnius, the most unexpected things will happen: we will introduce a new Christmas currency, which will allow you to remember your childhood, we will open a Christmas post office to the world, we will invite you to have fun in the streets of the city, . Finally, in the evening of this day, Vilnius will resound with the united voice of the Christmas choir in the Town Hall Square,\u201d says Dovil\u0117 Aleksandravi\u010dien\u0117, Head of Vilnius City Tourism and Business Development Agency Go Vilnius.<\/p>\n

The community of the capital is joining in on the most Christmas-like days in Vilnius: caf\u00e9s, restaurants, museums, hotels, various organisations and businesses. Together, they will help create Christmas in the city that we await with childlike impatience and joy.<\/p>\n

All information about Christmas in one place<\/strong><\/p>\n

The organisers of the festival \u201cChristmas in the Capital 2025\u201d emphasise that the entire city is preparing to welcome the period marked by the title of the Christmas Capital of Europe very responsibly. In order to create the Christmas spirit in the city, public spaces, squares, bridges, roundabouts and main streets are being decorated in a unified manner.<\/p>\n

To ensure that Vilnius residents and visitors do not get lost in the abundance of festive decorations and Christmas events, all information about them is published on the official website\u00a0kaledossostineje.lt<\/a>\u00a0and on a social media\u00a0account<\/a>\u00a0dedicated to the Christmas period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vilnius, titled the official Christmas Capital of Europe 2025, has presented\u00a0its program of events\u00a0for the festive season. Waiting for Christmas in the city will begin with the lighting of a natural Christmas tree in Cathedral Square, the opening of the skating rink in the Town Hall Square, events in the neighbourhoods inviting neighbours to gather, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":44829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44834,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44828\/revisions\/44834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vilniuskc.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}