Latvians gather for Independence Day celebrations

The flag of red and white was flown and national songs were

sung as Latvian community in Bristol gathered this weekend for the first

official celebrations on Latvia's Independence Day - one of the most important

national holidays in Latvia.

Although Latvia's Independence

Day is traditionally celebrated on November 18, the festivities in Bristol already

kicked off on Saturday night as about 50 Latvian nationals got together in St.Werburghs

community centre to spend the evening in a patriotic mood while working through

plates of national delicacies like caraway cheese and cream-filled "Semla" buns

and washing it down with the famous Riga Black Balsam.

Bringing together people of

various age and backgrounds - from warehouse operatives to real estate

appraisers, this event was one of the first opportunities for many of the

Bristol-Living Latvians to learn about the lives of their fellow nationals. As one

of the organisers Vineta Pasparne admits, even though the city is home to

several hundreds of Latvian nationals, most of them haven't demonstrated

particular activity or involvement over the years.

Many of the celebrators who are now

proudly calling Bristol their home have been living in the city for the last  1,5-3 years, while for some it has been five years

or more. For many of them, however, the biggest discovery of the night was

Bristol's oldest Latvian couple who's lived in the city since 1950's.

Rasma and Arvids Sermulins, whose story has also been

featured in the MShed museum, were brought to Britain by the Second World War.

Currently living in St. Andrews, the couple met through a newspaper

advertisement and were married in a quiet ceremony St. Mary Redcliffe church. This year they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

According to Mrs Sermulins,

despite the different national mentalities, she has never found it particularly

difficult to fit into the city while she has noticed a few cultural differences

over the years: "The British are more reserved and won't pour out their hearts

to you, however, if I ever needed assistance they'd be always happy to help."

She also admits she's more used

to speaking English to both her children and grandchildren while also claiming

that one must not lose their cultural heritage. "You cannot live as 100% Latvian

here or you will never fit in but you also shouldn't lose the sense of national

belonging," she insists, "it's great that the Latvian community is finally

coming together".

Latvia proclaimed its independence on November 18, 1918

shortly after World War I, however, it was occupied and annexed by the Soviet

Union and Nazi Germany during the Second World War and restored its

independence in 1991.