Marius Plitninkas, a Vilnius resident working in the banking sector, has come up with an unusual approach to raising his children. Every year, he goes with his family to the same Christmas tree market on Žirmūnų Street and chooses the ugliest tree — for him, it is important that his sons understand that it is not always worth reaching for what looks shiny and perfect.
Marius told LRT.lt that he has been choosing an (un)beautiful Christmas tree for a good ten years. Sometimes it is asymmetrical, sometimes it has a double or triple top. But when you put such a tree in the car, you smell it and think that it is not bad at all — after all, various trees grow in nature.
When you bring it home and place it in its spot, it starts to look truly cozy. And when you hang ornaments on it and wrap it with garlands — it already seems very beautiful. "We constantly joke in the family that we failed to choose an ugly tree again — we ended up with a very beautiful one," Marius says with a smile, noting that this choice of tree somehow reflects his life philosophy.
The Vilnius resident has two sons — they are currently 16 and 7 years old. They have never told their father that they would like to choose a beautiful tree at least once.
"Nowadays, children tend to choose things that look branded, standard, 'VIP,' and I want to show them that it can be different," Marius noted.
How do the sellers react to such an unusual request? "Well, the street vendors are often tired and cold. Upon hearing my wish, they are initially surprised, and then they start smiling and looking around animatedly to see what they can offer. They even name a good price — this year we paid 5 euros, although usually a tree would cost 15 or 20 euros," the interviewee shared.
Marius described his choice of the green beauty this year on his Facebook page. He wrote:
"For many years, we have had this tradition — to buy a tree from vendors near the same shopping center.
Every year we ask the sellers to 'choose, sell the ugliest one, the one that no one wants to buy, the one that feels sad...'. This year, some vendors searched among probably two hundred trees but couldn’t confidently offer anything. Although they recalled that last year 'someone was also looking for the ugliest tree.'
The second sellers — offered! A man confidently and joyfully smiled: 'Here it is!' And he led us straight to the fence — 'Here, it’s right here!'. We brought it home, decorated it with garlands — the most beautiful tree.
Value and beauty do not start with symmetry. No one should remain unchosen. Not only during the Advent season."
Marius's post gathered a total of 7,500 likes and numerous supportive comments. One commenter wrote that this story reminded her of an article about the poet Paulius Širvys. His childhood friend recounted that at parties, the poet would first invite the least attractive girls to dance so that they would not go unnoticed. After all, the most beautiful ones are invited by everyone anyway.
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