DZIESMU UN DEJU SVĒTKI 2008 - Current

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18:36:01

July 5th-12th, 2008

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PRESIDENT ADRESES THE PARTICIPANTS AND AUDIENCE OF THE SONG CELEBRATION

15.07.2008

12.07.2008

President of Latvia addressed today the participants and audience of the XXIV Song and XIV Dance Celebration closing concert „Latvia – land of the Sun":

"Good evening to all sons and daughters of Latvia!

Today we have opened our hearts through songs and dances to pay homage to our free Latvia, which celebrates its 90's birthday this year. The Song Festival awakened Latvian national self-confidence. The Song and Dance Festival writes Latvia's history. The Song and Dance Festival unites our nation for the future.

Every Latvian is strong in his or her spirit and actions. The Latvian finds the strength in the kin. The Latvian is strongly based in the farmstead, which for centuries formed Latvian landscape. Nevertheless the Latvian wants to be united and consolidated in the nation as well.

This is why every 5 years we gather here at the Song and Dance Festival to amalgamate in one voice, to form a single dance ornament, to align our heartbeats in one. In this fete our nation flows together in its entirety. We join our hands to express the spirit of the national self-confidence and folk traditions. We breathe each other's joy, hope and spiritual force to be responsible for our country – Latvia all the time till the next Song Festival.

Each and every Latvian keeps three things in the heart: knowledge, courage and love.

Latvians always aspired to be an educated nation. Knowledge includes the upbringing of children, the wisdom and traditions of the nation. It includes the ability to create one's own future.

Courage means a strong voice against absurdity or injustice. Courage means believing in one's ability to change things for better, to fight, to withstand and to win.

With knowledge and courage we are able to love. To love ourselves and the world around us.

To love our Latvia.

The song both hides and expresses all these qualities. There is a love in the songs since we are so united tonight. The song is courage for each and every singer to open the soul to the world from this stage.

The song is force.

More than century ago Jānis Cimze said: "Through societies and festivities singing can break into leaf, thrive and blossom, but its foundation and root remain in schools. Only through schools will disappear dumb throats, infamous songs and plain singing which we hear, for the God's sorrow, here and there sometimes."

Our force is in the song. I call upon you all to bring to our school curricula the singing lessons already this year. Through singing we can do it.

God bless Latvia."

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supporters

“A song festival is an extremely important phenomenon, for it’s a manifestation of the national culture. It does not express the interests of a particular class, or social or professional group. Neither is it about popular culture.
Festivals reflect our culture in a broader sense, its diverse aspects and genres.”

Vida Šatkauskienė, deputy director of the Song festival of Lithuania

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