When celebrating becomes mandatory: Jonava resident reveals the hidden side of the city festival

Jonava's city festival is presented as a traditional weekend celebration where residents can briefly forget work and enjoy themselves. But one resident's letter to Delfi offers a different view: she says participation in the main procession may be assigned rather than voluntary.

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I want to remain anonymous because Jonava is a small city and I could lose my job.

The woman, identified as Laura under a changed name, says employees of institutions and students are pressured to join the procession to the festival site. “At workplaces they say it is MANDATORY. Teachers write to students that it is MANDATORY,” she wrote.

She also claims institution directors are placed under pressure by the municipality. If too few people from an institution join the procession, she says, the directors must explain why. She asked to remain anonymous because Jonava is a small city and she fears she could lose her job.

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At workplaces they say it is MANDATORY. Teachers write to students that it is MANDATORY.

According to the resident, a similar arrangement applies to the Christmas “Town of Trees,” where every institution is expected to build an unusual tree and directors who do not participate are left to answer to the municipality. Her complaint questions whether a celebration remains a celebration when people attend because they are told it is compulsory.

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Institution directors are simply hostages of the municipality, and they have no choice.