Lithuania’s Unique Visual Communication Method: Dots for Days [Photos]
Businesses use colored dots and squares to show their opening days and hours in this Baltic republic.
Walking through the streets of Lithuania, I couldn’t help but notice something totally bizarre and fascinating: when indicating which days and hours they are open, businesses tend to use a visual display of colored dots or squares, with the color—or lack of color, or a slash—indicating whether a business is open or closed.
Sometimes they don’t include letter abbreviations for days of the week, instead using roman numerals: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII:
Sometimes, they dispense with day labels altogether—instead using a visual separation between weekdays and weekends:
Another sign that I found used a change in color to indicate both which days were the weekend and also the fact that those days had reduced hours:
Sometimes they use a partially-filled dot to show that there are reduced hours on a certain day:
At one place I went to, they didn’t have any labels for days of the week, but did still use roman numerals—for months:

So far I’ve been to 36 countries across multiple continents and have never seen anything like this anywhere else. I just couldn’t help thinking to myself: What the heck… this is so bizarre!
I have no idea why they do this, and haven’t been able to find any information online. Perhaps it simply developed as a cultural custom and the locals don’t even notice.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it. One the one hand, it’s sort of a cool visual method of communication. On the other hand, I find it kind of a headache to look at and try to figure out, especially if there are no day labels or separation between weekdays and weekends—though Lithuanians are probably used to it, so maybe it’s no problem for them.
Nevertheless, it’s delightfully fascinating. 🙂
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By the way: Lithuania is awesome, and I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance!

One of the most delightful things about visiting other countries is getting to see the cultural differences.
Whenever I visit a new country, I always keep a note on my phone of all the things I observe that are different from home. I encourage you to do it too! It’s so fascinating to be able to look back later.
Have you noticed anything totally fascinating or bizarre when traveling? Let me know in the comments.