TE15 Lithuanian Honey Cake

Irena Veisaitė & Aurimas Švedas

Russian, by Pushkin, Apuchtin, and others. 12 Once, Mrs. Ladigienė surprised me by giving me a small box of rouge so that I could paint my cheeks and would not look so pale. This kind of behaviour was unheard of in a Catholic Lithuanian family! According to the attitudes of the day, a girl who bought and used rouge was at the very least seen as unserious. But Mrs. Ladigienė knew how to separate true faith from public displays of devotion. As I have already mentioned, the main thing always motivating her actions was love for her fellow human beings. No one ever left Mrs. Ladigienė’s home hungry, and anyone appealing to her for help could be sure that they would receive sympathy and understanding. I remember a discussion that frequently took place between her and Agnietė. “Madam, maybe we should not be feeding guests? We may not have anything to feed the children tomorrow,” Agnietė would say. “Don’t worry—God will provide,” was Mrs. Ladigienė’s reply. As strange as it may seem, Mrs. Ladigienė was right. The next day, someone would 12 Salomeja Neris (1904–1945)—poet, one of the most distinct Lithuanian women poets of the interwar period, a person of a complex and tragic fate, who contributed to the establishment of the Soviet regime in Lithuania. Bernardas Brazdžionis (1907–2002)—Lithuanian poet, one of the most respected writers of the interwar independence period. During the occupation period Brazdžionis acquired the status of national poet; like Maironis before him, Brazdžionis had a profound impact on Lithuanian national consciousness. Aleksandr Puškin (Rus. Александр Пушкин, 1799–1837)—Russian poet. Aleksei Apuchtin (Rus. Алексей Апухтин, 1840–1893)—Russian poet.

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