During the last years of Soviet occupation, the practice of folklore collection gained momentum, with the intelligentsia and university students saving still recorded songs, tales, names and household and folk-crafted articles from ruin.

There are over a million samples of very varied genres, such as legends, proverbs, tales, stories and songs, housed at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Folklore. A major portion of the wealth of this collective creativity consists of songs, of which there are about 600,000. The unique method of Lithuanian singing, the sutartine, is known all over the world.

Choral singing is particularly popular in Lithuania. There is a number of prominent choirs. The amateur men's choir Varpas, the women's choir Egle, the professional boys' choir Azuoliukas, and the girls' choir Liepaites have become famous. Currently achieving fame are the following choirs: Salutaris, Jauna Muzika, Psalmos, Brevis, Gilija, Varpelis, Ave Vita as well as the mixed Kaunas State Choir.

Various folklore ensembles are also popular. The unique tradition of a national song festival, which takes place every five years, is alive in Lithuania. The festival brings together hundreds of thousands of performers and listeners. It takes place in the capital. Such festivals began in 1924, when in Kaunas, (at the time, the provisional capital), 86 choral groups and 3000 singers assembled in one square for the first time; some dancers participated as well. The festivals were not suspended, even after World War II, since the Soviet administration did not dare to put a stop to this very popular tradition. The festival lasts three days. Currently, tens of thousands of singers, musicians and dancers assemble for the festival. It is interesting to note that festivals of this type used to take place in the West throughout the entire post-war period, where émigré Lithuanians from all over the world also used to assemble to sing and dance. The World Lithuanian Song Festival will take place in 1998.

The folklore ensemble festival, Skamba, Skamba Kankliai (the Kankliai are Playing, Playing), which takes place on the streets of Vilnius during the final week in May, keeps gaining in popularity every year. The international folklore festival, Baltica, is also popular. A carnival-type religious holiday, Uzgavenes (Shrove Tuesday), is very popular in Lithuania. This Catholic feast day, which marks the start of Lent, 40 days before Easter, found its way to the cities from the villages and became a big occasion for children. They deck themselves out with various masks, burn the More, an effigy of winter, and knock on the doors and are treated to pancakes and candies.

Since the 14th century, the 24th of June has been celebrated in observance of the Feast of St John, Rasa Day: in recent years, this feast has also become more popular.