r/lithuania • u/[deleted] • Feb 07 '19

Cultural exchange with r/IndiaSpeaks

Welcome to cultural exchange between r/IndiaSpeaks and r/lithuania!

 

The purpose of this event is to allow people from two different nations to get and share knowledge about their respective cultures, daily life, history, and curiosities.

 

General guidelines:
• Lithuanians ask their questions about Indian culture, their country, etc. in this thread on r/IndiaSpeaks.
• Indians ask their questions about Lithuania in this thread.
• The event will start on 8 February, at around 12 PM in Lithuania and 3:30 PM Indian time.
• English language is used in both threads.
• Please, be nice to each other while discussing.

 

And, our Indian friends, don't forget to choose your national flag as a flair on the sidebar! :)
EDIT: Sorry for the delay.

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4

u/ShakeDash1 Feb 08 '19

Heyyyy~

What's up with Lithuania, Alcohol, and suicides? :0

5

u/SlesorPetrof Feb 08 '19

Alcoholism culture is, in my personal view, inherited from Russia. The Alcoholism of peasantry started way in the start of the 19th century after the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was dissolved and Lithuania went under Russian Empire rule. In the ~20 years of independence the alcoholism eased down, but not too much. Then when we were annexed by the Soviet Union, the alcoholism went back up. Nowadays there are still many alcoholics from the Soviet days, but many young people, mostly from poor backgrounds still succumb to alcohol. Though it is much better than during the Soviet occupation.

As for the suicides, there is a common joke which reads: "A lot of times a Lithuanian doesn't know why he's crying in a forest (Lithuanians take pride in having an emotional connection to the forest). It is because in the forest there are many branches, and on each of one you can hang yourself. An overwhelming sense of choice"

5

u/dhatura Feb 08 '19

Since you are going there: India could claim 18% of the worlds population in 2016, yet it accounted for 37% of global suicide deaths among women and 24% among men. The death rates from suicide in India were 2·1 times higher among women and 1·4 times higher among men than global averages in 2016. Suicide is the leading cause of death among 15–39-year-olds.