KEDAINIAI, Lithuania, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A festival dedicated to cucumber was celebrated on Tuesday in Kedainiai, a small town in the center of Lithuania with a population of around 22,000.
Starting from 11 a.m., a cucumber market was open, drawing locals and visitors to taste and buy cucumbers and all kinds of products made from cucumbers -- from pickled and fermented cucumbers to cucumber martini and drinks, from cucumber jams, cakes, ice cream and dishes to cosmetic products.
Titled as the cucumber capital of Lithuania, Kedainiai with its surrounding areas has a history of growing cucumbers dating back to the 19th century, according to a press release from Kedainiai District Municipality.
"This is cucumber jams from Kedainai, from cucumber town, very sweet, recommend to eat with cheeses, all kinds of cheese, maybe with wine," said Justina, a vendor at the market while promoting her products and inviting Xinhua reporter to have a taste.
Not far from her stall, a special cucumber post office was set up there to serve people who wanted to send greetings to their friends and loved ones in the letters with the envelopes in cucumber green on Cucumber Day.
"You can just write the name and send the letter with the best wishes from the cucumber capital," said Jorune Liutkiene, adviser to the mayor of Kedainiai District Municipality for public relations.
Starting from 1997, Cucumber Day is celebrated annually to honor cucumber growers, most often in the middle of July when cucumbers become very cheap and the time of canning and preparing these vegetables for the winter begins.
"Today we are celebrating the cucumber day here in Kedainiai, we invite the people from all over the world to see how beautiful our town is and taste the real naturally grown cucumbers in our country," said Liutkiene.
She also invited Chinese tourists "to come and to see how we celebrate, how we find business and cooperation together." Enditem
