LTRemiantis etnografiniais duomenimis, monografijoje analizuojamos lietuvių, lenkų, rusų vilniečių šeimose švenčiamos tradicinės (Kūčios ir Kalėdos, Naujieji metai, Užgavėnės, Velykų šventės, Joninės, Žolinė ir Mirusiųjų paminėjimo šventės) bei modernios, susijusios su Lietuvos valstybingumu (Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo ir Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo), taip pat - Moters, Motinos bei Tėvo dienų šventės. [anotacija knygoje]
ENA number of various studies and monographs were published exploring Lithuanian calendar festivals and holidays, most of them focusing on the expressions of customs of the past. These ethnological works did not research how such feasts or public holidays, except for Christmas Eve and Mother’s Day, are celebrated at home. Even though researches in various fields of science have been taking into account studies in the areas of urban culture, ethnic groups, family and traditional holidays, a comparative research of family holidays in different national urban groups, specifically ofVilnians, using the ethnological angle, has been conducted in Lithuania for the first time. The dominating model of society in Lithuania is national rather than civil, common to East Central Europe, where family plays more important role in ethnic processes (Plasseraud, 2006). Despite current crisis of the family, we think that research of the family and transmission of culture in modern society is still undoubtedly important. From the ethnological point of view family studies are related to the studies of everyday life, which are one of the fundamental and unchanging features of European ethnology (Löfgren 2001). Analysis of festivals is important in understanding urban culture. Holidays constitute an important part of political, religious, family and personal life of every state and its citizens, and research thereof is able to provide knowledge about ethnical, civil, religious and cultural features of the nations, and to reveal the identities they shape (Mardosa, Šaknys, 2013). Holidays are a great instrument to manifest these identities, to legalise, recognise and reveal them, because they are expressive, consolidating, uniting, interactive, communicating.The aim if this research was to explore ethnic and cultural identities of modern citizens of Lithuanian, Polish and Russian origins. In our analysis of yearly festivals, celebrated together by the family members, we had goals to analyse: places where celebrations are held, the make-up of the family circle during celebrations, food that is served, gifts that are shared and traditions that are upheld during festivals. In the course of the field research in the city of Vilnius in 2012 and 2013, having aligned it with the ethnographic practicum of students from the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences we had the opportunity of sharing our personal experience in the field work, and with the help of the students in short order were able to effectively gather the necessary research data. First stage of the study was dedicated to establishing practical vectors of the research, seeking to reveal the most important festivals that are celebrated among families in the three selected ethnic groups. After analysis of the primary fieldwork data, the following holidays appeared to be most commonly reported. Seeking to better understand yearly rituals of the Vilnian family, twelve festivals have been selected: traditional (Christmas Eve, Christmas, the New Year, Shrove, Easter, St John’s Day, the Assumption and All Saints’ Day) and modern (Restoration of Statehood and Restoration of Independence of Lithuania, Woman’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day). During second stage the research, the material was collected on the basis of ethnographic questionnaires, prepared by the authors of the monograph 'Modern Festivals in the Vilnian Family (pt. I-II)’. In the selected research methodology we did not aim for the respondents’ nationality to match the statistical ethnic composition of Vilnius citizens.The respondents were randomly chosen individuals, able to complete the questionnaire and between twenty and forty years of age, presently living the city. In the course of the study 350 questionnaires (175 in both parts) were completed. Seeking to have a better look at the festive traditions and transfer of customs between generations, some additional research has been completed among pupils of three Vilnius gymnasiums (Lithuanian, Polish and Russian), employing a special questionnaire 'Family Holidays and Г (23, 21, and 21 questionnaires respectively). We think that this research is important to the formation of civil society, also in amending the list of holidays and memorial days, which is constantly discussed by the public. The monograph is the first glance into the world of urban family traditions. Through this book we would like to promote further research of urban culture. [From the publication]