nPostednon November 11, 2014
n
n
n
n
Anlot of nations celebrate patriotic holidays today, because on thisndate in 1918, a long war ended.
Anlot of nations celebrate patriotic holidays today, because on thisndate in 1918, a long war ended.n
n
n
nAndnit was a “world war” (WWI, to be exact), so a lot of nations wereninvolved.
n
n
n
nThat’snwhy today is celebrated as Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, ornVeterans Day in at least 20 nations.
n
n
n
nButnLatvia isn’t celebrating the end of World War I today. Instead, thisnnation is commemorating a victory over the Bermontians in 1919.
n
n
n
nDon’tnyou hate it when the promise of “no more wars, ever” is brokennjust a few months later? During the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920,nthe West Russian Volunteer Army (the Bermontians) attacked the newlynindependent Baltic nations of Latvia and Lithuania. The Latvians werenable to push back. (Of course, it wasn’t very many years before thenstart of World War II, when Latvia was forcibly incorporated into thenSoviet Union, then invaded by Nazi Germany, and then freed from thenNazis by Soviet troops—only to be forced again into the USSR!)
n
n
n
nHere are a few of my favorite Latvian things:
n
n
n
n
n
nThisnFreedom Monument in Latvia’s capital, Riga, somehow survived WWI andnthe Soviet era.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThenwidest waterfall in Europe, Ventas Rumba, is in Latvia. It is 249 mn(817 ft) wide, and only about 2 m (6 ft) wide.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
 |
| Latvia’s flag |
n
n
n
nThenLatvian flag is remarkably similar to Austria’s flag – and theyneven have similar origin stories about a leader wrapped in a whitensheet in battle—but the sheet being almost entirely reddened by hisnblood.
n
n
n
 |
| Austria’s flag |
n
nActually,nthe Latvian flag is one of the oldest in the world, having been innuse waaaaayyy back in the 1200s.
n
n
n
n
Anfamous Latvian food is bacon turnovers. Yumm…
Anfamous Latvian food is bacon turnovers. Yumm…n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nVeteran’snDay –nalsonknown as
n
n
n
nArmisticenDay and
n
n
n
nRemembrancenDay
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nNational Day in St. Maarten
nn
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nNational Young Reader’s Day / Week
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversarynof a record-breaking balloon ride
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nIndependencenDays in Angola and Poland
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nOrigaminDay
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannahead:
n
n
n
nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
nNovembern holidays
n
-
nNovembern birthdays
n
- Historicaln anniversaries in November
nn
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
- n
-
n
-
nDecembern birthdays
n
- Historicaln anniversaries in December
nn
n
n
n
