Latvian Independence Day

The national official holiday of November 18 is Latvian Independence Day, established in honor of the events of 1818, when the “Act of Independence” was signed A day earlier, the People's Councils were created and the first provisional government was elected November 18, 1818 went down in Latvian history as the “Day of Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia”, which was announced by Kārlis Ulmanis on behalf of the government, and which became the official name of the holiday today Since ancient times, Latvia has been politically at the mercy of stronger entities and states - the Livonian Order, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden, the Russian Empire A favorable situation for gaining independence arose at the end of the First World War And although independence was declared, it was not taken into account by outside forces, namely the Soviet government and the Germans The latter did not want to leave the conquered territory and give it to the Bolsheviks, which led to hostilities that lasted another 2 years The RSFSR was the first to recognize the independence of the Latvians in the summer of 1920: only after a while did the Atlanta countries agree with this state of affairs The period of freedom was relatively short - until 1940, when Germany and the USSR again began to divide spheres of influence The Second World War brought German occupation to the territory of the republic until 1944, when Red Army troops liberated Riga The next period of existence in the form of the Latvian SSR is today called the Soviet occupation, which lasted until 1991, when independence was gained a second time, and, as the Latvians hope, forever Currently, on such an important patriotic holiday, what the country can be proud of is emphasized, the value of achievements, success in culture, science at the local and global level The ceremonial part includes a parade, formation of soldiers, and then the column proceeds to the Freedom Monument The top officials of the state lay flowers there The statue of the Motherland at the top of the monument serves as an expression of independence, and the base of the monument tells the history of Latvia through placed sculptures and bas-reliefs from the legendary epic hero Lachplesis to the Red Riflemen Various cultural events take place throughout the country: concerts, parties, performances, exhibitions, lectures, and other types of public events, where the main background is a special patriotism, pride in one’s nationality This is manifested in symbolism: the capital is especially festively decorated with dark red panels with a national ornament in the form of a white stripe Riga is an ancient city (founded in 1201), with many attractions, and on this holiday, guests of the capital will be especially interested in touching history, for example, visiting the building of the National Theater, where state sovereignty was declared in 1918 Traditional torchlight processions and colorful fireworks are a beautiful end to the holiday