Lithuanian holidays - Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania

Every year on February 16, Lithuania celebrates its main national holiday - the Restoration of the State of Lithuania On this day, Lithuanian flags are solemnly hung in all Baltic countries, in accordance with the current interethnic treaty In 1918, a meeting was held in Vilnius, where representatives of the Lithuanian people drew up a document proclaiming the restoration of an independent state This act was signed by all 20 delegates participating in the meeting Unfortunately, neither the document itself nor its copy have yet been found According to Lithuanian media reports, the textual content of the act, established in the most difficult conditions, is short and succinct, but its value is undeniable However, to this day no one knows where the original is kept According to many witnesses, when Soviet soldiers entered the country in 1940, the head of the clerical department removed the document from the presidency, after which the act disappeared without a trace The road to independence was thorny and long due to the fact that Germany put strong pressure on the Lithuanian government to form a union Officials had to maneuver between German interests, the army that was in Lithuania, and the demands of their people The reaction to the news about the restoration of an independent state was quite restrained The German government was prohibited from publishing the act; its text was printed and distributed underground The activities of the Council were interfered with in every possible way, and the Germans had no intention of ending control over Lithuania The situation changed dramatically in the fall of 1918, when the German Empire lost the First World War Soon the Lithuanian cabinet of ministers was created, and the Council itself achieved control over the entire territory of the state Independence nevertheless became a reality, but Lithuania had to take part in several armed conflicts that finally confirmed it Despite the fact that the original act could not be found, it has not lost its legal force The document serves as a legal explanation for the existence of an independent Lithuanian state both during the interwar period and after the events of 1990 It reflects the main principles of the country's structure, which are also formulated in all Lithuanian constitutions In addition, the act became the main document in 1990 after the country seceded from the Soviet Union Every year on February 16, in honor of this significant date, mass events are organized in major cities of Lithuania, including concerts, street performances and ceremonial processions