Final Days of December in Vilnius: a Comeback of a Marvellous Christmas Fairy Tale

On Christmas, after a year-long hiatus, Vilnius welcomes back one of its traditional events – Christmas Fairy Tale, shown on the Grand Stage at the Cathedral Stage. This year, spectators will see A Christmas Carol, based on a novella of the same name by Charles Dickens.

‘Each year we try to make our Christmas traditional and contemporary at the same time. This Christmas tale, filled with spectacular projections and amazing music, is a gift to our youngest residents. We truly hope that the beautiful story, told in sparkling colours on the Arch-Cathedral’s façade, will bring copious amounts of joy and excitement to Vilnius,’ Vice-Mayor Edita Tamošiūnaitė claims.

All interested will be able to enjoy the free event for as many as 42 times, as, this year, the 15-minute-long tale will be shown 7 times each evening, in order to avoid mass gatherings of spectators. We ask all viewers to act responsibly and take all the recommended precautions, i.e. watch the show while social distancing and properly wear masks or respirators, when there is no possibility to be 2 m away from other people.

This animated tale, based on a novella by Charles Dickens, reminds us that the biggest treasures life can give us are our families and the people we love.

According to Paulius Jurgutis, Head of Vilnius Cultural Centre (the organizer of the Christmas in Vilnius festival), this magnificent Christmas story, known all over the world, has not lost its relevance even in hectic contemporary times. This event is an invitation to stop worrying at least for a moment and enjoy the miraculous time of the year, when the most unexpected and the best things can happen.

The creative team had one year to bring the Christmas story to life.

‘We constructed this unique tale piece by piece. Every time you try to find something new, unique and unheard of. Our talented and meticulous animators always strive for perfection, because presenting this type of project to Vilnius and the rest of the country takes a lot of responsibility. The underlying idea of this story centres around strong emotions and true values,’ Linartas Urniežis, the leader of Video Architects, explains.

A lot of effort was put into telling the story, which would normally last several hours, in 15 minutes. The greatest challenge was preserving the chronological order and essence of a highly detail-driven narrative. This was achieved by introducing an off-screen narrator and synergizing his voice with the animation. The narrator creates an additional layer in the story, explains certain scenes and sometimes even takes the viewer on a cross-dimensional journey, leaving the story on the screen behind. A Christmas Carol is narrated by Vytautas Rumšas Sr.

On 25-30 December, A Christmas Carol will be shown in the Cathedral Square at these times:
4:40–4:55 pm
5:05–5:20 pm
6:15–6:30 pm
7:30–7:45 pm
8:05–8:20 pm
8:30–8:45 pm
9:00–9:15 pm

Traffic Restrictions

On 25 December, 4-9 p.m., while the animated Christmas tale is shown in the Cathedral Square, vehicles (except public transport) will not be allowed to enter the surrounding T. Vrublevskio, Šventaragio and Barboros Radvilaitės streets.

How to Safely Get There by Public Transport?
All public transport will operate as per usual. On 25 and 26 December, all public transport will follow Sunday timetables.
Want your travels to be faster and easier? Plan beforehand: www.judu.lt or use mobile apps m.Ticket and Trafi. Track your bus or trolley on your phone: https://bit.ly/VirtualiSvieslente.