Lithuanian emigrants and deportees, dispersed in the West and in the East, took with them their songs, customs and handiwork the traces of which can be found in many places of the world. In the western regions of Byelorussia Lithuanians had to abandon their own language for various reasons, but they managed to preserve the characteristically Lithuanian ornaments and colour combinations in textiles and also typical folklore features. Certain elements of Lithuanian dress were taken over by the Cossacks on the Don river. Traditions of wooden sculpture were brought as far as the Volga river by the exiled insurgents of 1831 and 1963. Miniature pillar-type crosses sprang up in the displaced persons' camps in Western Europe after World War 11 and from there they found their permanent place in the Lithuanian homes in various countries of the world. Lithuanian ornamented crosses can be found now in many places of the world. if you happen to come across an ornamented cross or a little chapel with an iron head in the shape of a cross surrounded with sun-rays, you can be sure that this is a Lithuanian grave. In the United States Christmas trees are adorned with straw compositions. Easter eggs and Lithuanian sashes decorated with sun motifs travel in the world with each Lithuanian generation. Lithuanians, dispersed in the remotest corners of the world, are united by their folk songs and dances, national costumes, amber jewelry, rues, a loaf of rye bread on their table and the Lithuanian national emblem - the Mounted Knight. The last greatest blessing to every Lithuanian is a handful of earth, taken from his native land, sprinkled on his coffin in his last resting place.
All these ties and links are nourished by the memories and love for our motherland, Lithuania.
J. Kudirka "THE LITHUANIANS"