DC's Latvian Christmas Bazaar

One of the biggest annual events at the Washington, D.C. Latvian Lutheran Church is the Christmas bazaar (or as we call it in Latvian: "tirdziņš" aka little market), which typically takes place the first weekend of December. The market was so well attended that the ladies serving lunch ran out of the main entree, hearty sausages, before everyone who wanted to eat had a chance to do so. The available Latvian tortes in the cafe also quickly disappeared - but not as quickly as the piparkūkas at the hugely popular baked goods stand.

Vendors included my good friend Andris Rūtiņš of BalticSmith with his handmade jewelry....

and BalticShop with a plethora of books, CDs, T-shirts, DVDs, greeting cards, edible gifts, calendars, etc...

and even a table of donated Latvian pottery and jewelry organized by the church ladies. It was at this stand that I purchased something for myself - my very own "zaļā krūze" or green mug (well, actually it's more a small pitcher). For a mere $3 donation, it was clearly calling my name.

While on the topic of the upcoming holiday, please do check out my friend Liene's "24 Days of a Baltic Christmas" project on her blog, Femme au Foyer. It features guest posts from different bloggers and writers on topics ranging from "Latvian Santa" to crafts and baking to music. Liene asked me to write a guest post, and that should be posted today!

In my next post I'll fill you in on the European movies - great and terrible alike - that I have watched during European Union Film Showcase at AFI.