Latvians in Great Britain celebrate November 18 / Article / LSM.lv

In Britain, this year’s national holiday is to be welcomed by everyone in their own homes, as until 2 December there are very strict emergency rules. Not even one friend or family member you do not live with can come, so you can only celebrate with those with whom you share a household. The winners are compatriots with larger families, especially sisters and brothers, if the families live next door and are together on a daily basis.

Both big and small dance in the family, so it is difficult to imagine a national holiday without concerts and Latvian events. However, this year we should limit ourselves to sitting quietly at home, enjoying specially prepared Latvian dishes, because, for example, herring and stewed cabbage can not be bought in ordinary English shops.

“We already create the feeling of a holiday ourselves, the atmosphere, for example. We all gather together, set the holiday table. We always watch a patriotic film and listen to Latvian music, put it in the background.

Because there is that holiday feeling here too. Sometimes it is even bigger than when it is celebrated in Latvia, “said Ilmārs Jakobsons, a dancer of the folk dance group” Straumēni “.

“In Latvia, it’s more on television, there are concerts, concerts, concerts … Every year there is a big race. This year it is like sitting at home, celebrating, thinking,” added Viesturs Bērziņš, the leader of the folk dance group “Straumēni”.

If there are dance group leaders and dancers in the family, then the conversations mostly revolve around and around dancing.

“(..) Here it is more about keeping in touch with my homeland. It is important for me, children, so that they still know where I come from, my husband comes from,” said Laura Rutka, assistant to the leader of the folk dance group “Straumēni”.

The leader of the folk dance ensemble “Straumēni” admitted: “Many people come to me who have never danced in their lives. Those who come only because they want that sense of Latvian togetherness, want to do something with Latvians. In the end they like (..)”

In the family of dancers, there is always dancing at the festival, it is nothing that there is little space, you can watch your own videos and move around to enjoy the baked cake and other delicacies of entertainer Viesturs.

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