Užgavėnės

Imagine you live in a place called Lithuania, where they have a special holiday called Užgavėnės. It's a really fun holiday where people dress up in costumes and have parades and games. But there's one part of the holiday that might seem a little strange: they make scary-looking masks and puppets out of straw and paper mache.

Now, back in the old days, people used to believe that around this time of year, there were bad spirits and monsters lurking about. But don't worry, they weren't real! To scare away these make-believe baddies, people would put on these scary masks and make lots of noise by banging pots and pans together.

And of course, no holiday is complete without delicious food! During Užgavėnės, people make special pancakes called "šaukštelių," which means "little spoons." These pancakes are made with lots of yummy ingredients like potatoes, milk, and bacon bits.

So, basically, Užgavėnės is a fun holiday where you can dress up, scare away imaginary monsters, and eat tasty pancakes. It might seem a little strange, but it's a tradition that people in Lithuania have been celebrating for a very long time!