These events center on the week from November 11 (Lāčplesis Day) and November 18 (Independence Day) but there's nothing stopping those of a particularly patriotic persuasion from extending the ribbon-wearing season.
An opening event will take place on Friday, November 8, at 2 p.m. in the square near the Latvian War Museum, where a bonfire commemorating the War of Independence will be lit. There, on November 8, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., an exhibition of military equipment and equipment of the Latvian and allied armed forces will be on display. The exhibition will also be open on November 11 from 08:00 a.m. to 23:00.
Lāčplēsis Day, November 11, will begin with an ecumenical service at Riga Cathedral at 9:00 a.m.
After the service at 11:00, the Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds and the Commander of the National Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Leonids Kalniņš, will lay wreaths at the Riga Brothers' Cemetery near the Eternal Flame, honoring the Latvian soldiers who gave their lives for Latvia's freedom and independence with a moment of silence.
At 12:00 at the Freedom Monument and at 13:00 at Rīga Castle, the ceremonial changing of the guard of honor will take place. At 12:10, the National Armed Forces Headquarters Orchestra and soldiers of the National Defense Service will demonstrate the newly created parade program at the Freedom Monument.
At the end of Lāčplēsis Day at 18.00, Latvian Television will broadcast a live broadcast from the Riga Brothers' Cemetery, where a solemn evening ceremony will be held to honor the memory of the soldiers who died in the Latvian War of Independence.
On the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, on November 18, everyone is invited to go to the banks of the Daugava river in central Rīga to watch the traditional military parade, which will be attended by soldiers and military equipment of both the Latvian and allied armed forces.
Numerous events will also be taking place in municipalities across the regions and abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has produced a 9-page document listing patriot month events in other countries (attached).
The Latvian War of Independence lasted from November 18, 1918, when the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed, to August 11, 1920, when the Latvian-Russian peace treaty was concluded.
For more about November 11 and its meaning – which is importantly different in many respects to November 11 Armistace commemorations in many other countries – see this feature from our archives.
For more about Latvia's independence proclamation on November 18, 1918, see this feature and short documentary.
