Lāčplēsis Day

A day of remembrance

Lāčplēsis Day is a memorial day in Latvia. It honours the soldiers who fought for the country's independence, and in particular the 743 who died at the Battle of Riga. The battle was fought on 11 November 1919, when the Latvian Army defeated a volunteer force of former German and Russian soldiers under the warlord Pavel Bermondt-Avalov. That win secured the young state. The day is not a national public holiday: a proposal to make it one failed in 2018. Instead it works as an official day of remembrance, marked by state ceremonies, and a month of national reflection around the founding of Latvia.

Origins and the battle

Latvia declared its independence on 18 November 1918, in Riga, while the Imperial German Army still held the territory. After the First World War the Allies asked German troops stationed there to join the Latvian Army against the Bolshevik invasion of December 1918. In April 1919 those German forces turned on the Latvians. The Estonian Army and the North Latvian Brigade beat them at the Battle of Cēsis in June. Former soldiers of the German and Russian empires regrouped and invaded again that autumn. Outnumbered, the Latvian Army held Riga and won on 11 November 1919. The Latvian-Soviet Peace Treaty of 11 August 1920 closed the war.

The Order of Lāčplēsis

The writer Kārlis Skalbe compared the soldiers' spirit to that of Lāčplēsis, whose name the day now carries. Latvia's Constitutional Assembly then created the Order of Lāčplēsis for people who had played a leading part in the victory. The first awards ceremony was held on 11 November 1920 in Esplanade Park in Riga, where Jānis Čakste, chairman of the assembly, handed the order to its first 288 knights, mostly soldiers and instructors. From 1928 no new awards were made, and the day grew into a large army occasion with parades, feasts, concerts and solemn events, where veterans and those wounded in the fighting were singled out.

Candles and the ribbon

After the Soviet Union occupied Latvia in 1940, this celebration was banned outright. It returned during the third awakening: on 10 November 1989 the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR named it a day of remembrance. Since 1988 a popular custom has been to set candles along the wall of Riga Castle, and similar candle ceremonies are held in other towns, villages and military cemeteries. In 2007 the television channel LNT introduced a ribbon in the colours of the Latvian flag, cut in the shape of a V, the victory sign. With the backing of the Ministry of Defence it is now worn on the left chest, often for the whole of November.

Today and change

In the Latvia of today, Lāčplēsis Day honours all Latvian freedom fighters who died, not only the knights of the war order. November has become a month when the country looks back at its founding, and officials often invoke the day when they speak about later conflicts. In 2018 a proposal by Unity and the National Alliance to turn it into a national holiday did not pass. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, President Egils Levits used the image of the Lāčplēsis heroes in a message online, asking people to find that same strength and to make careful, self-sacrificing decisions for the health of others.

How Lāčplēsis Day is kept

State and military ceremonies lead the day. Army garrisons hold parades and solemn gatherings, a pattern that goes back to the 1920s, and those who were wounded in the fighting or received the Order of Lāčplēsis are remembered. In the evening people place candles along the wall of Riga Castle; candle ceremonies also take place in other towns and villages and at military cemeteries. Such lighting began in 1988. Concerts and commemorative events are part of the day too. Many Latvians pin a V-shaped ribbon in the national colours to the left chest and keep it there through November.

When and where

Lāčplēsis Day falls every year on 11 November, the date of the 1919 Battle of Riga. Because it is fixed to that day rather than to a movable feast, it always falls in mid-November, and the ribbon that goes with it is often worn for the whole month.

It is kept throughout Latvia. Riga is its centre: the first awards ceremony took place in Esplanade Park there in 1920, and the candle custom belongs to the wall of Riga Castle. Ceremonies also take place in towns and villages across the country and at military cemeteries.

What Lāčplēsis Day means

The day is about sacrifice and endurance. Latvians remember an army that was outnumbered and still held its ground, and they connect that with the founding of their state. The name Lāčplēsis carries the idea of a fighter's spirit, and officials reach for it when they ask people to show courage in hard times, as President Egils Levits did during the pandemic in 2021. The small V-shaped ribbon, worn on the chest, is a quiet sign of that.

Questions people ask about Lāčplēsis Day

See also

FastelavnA pre-Lenten carnival in Northern Europe where children dress up, sing for treats, and break candy-filled barrels.Remembrance Day of the Latvian LegionnairesAn annual observance in Latvia honoring soldiers from the Latvian Legion who fought during World War II.TabuaA polished sperm whale tooth traded as a sacred gift in Fijian ceremonies and negotiations.Day of the SunNorth Korea's principal holiday, marking the birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung

Good reading and sources

• Lāčplēsis Day on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.