Paper short abstract:

In the paper I will examine artistic signs and symbols that mean "home" to Lithuanian immigrants. The paper is based on the field research in Chicago in 2012. I’ll discuss how and why a Lithuanian ornate cross in a foreign country became a symbol of “home” and native homeland.

Paper long abstract:

In the paper I will examine artistic signs and symbols that mean "home" to Lithuanian immigrants. The paper is based on the field research in Chicago in 2012.

Already in the displaced persons camps (1944-1955) Lithuanian refugees made efforts to adapt in the foreign country by recreating their homeland through objects representing their home environment. Such items as small crosses intended for the interior and large outdoor crosses became the symbols of their abandoned Lithuanian homeland, their native villages and homesteads. These symbols have been created ever after, when Lithuanian refugees have settled in other countries.

I'll reveal how a Lithuanian object in a foreign country symbolically unites the native homeland with the new place of residence and helps adapt to the new environment. I will examine the most popular topics and plots of sculpture put in the crosses and their functions and meaning in immigrants' milieu. I'll reveal why Lithuanian cross makers in exile use not only religious images but also portraits of Lithuanian rulers, as well as images depicting Lithuanian history and signs denoting Lithuania's statehood.

Alongside the common cultural symbols, such as language and religion, Lithuanian emigrants (especially the older generation) attached significance to a concrete symbolic object: the Lithuanian ornate cross or wayside shrine. Erecting Lithuanian crosses near their houses or purchasing their smaller versions for the interior, immigrants not only express their religiousness but, first and foremost, seek to have "a particle of Lithuania" - a particle of the abandoned home.