March 16

This day has two meanings for me. First its the day that Matt and I got engaged and second it is Legionnaires Day in Latvia. While it might not seem that these two have anything in common..they actually do because Matt and I got engaged at the Freedom Monument in Latvia on March 16, Legionnaires Day. When I tell Latvians that they get all wide eyed and say really wow. Legionnaires Day is the day when the Latvian Legion, men who were (mostly) conscripted into the Nazi army remember their service as the 16 of March 1943 was the day the first conscription orders went out. In response to this ethnic Russians come out and protest against the Latvians because they feel that they are traitors supporting the enemy of the Soviet Union and that they participated in the Holocaust (which was actually completed in Latvia by 1942). In reality many of these men felt more inclined toward the West after the Year of Terror 1940 when thousands of Latvians were killed or deported to Siberia by the Soviets. And they were led to believe that they would be able to establish a free Latvia again if the Nazis won the war. If you would like to read more about this ever ongoing debate please see here. In past years there has been some brawls between Latvian and Russian nationalists, in fact the majority of the people at the events were there to see what would happen (as I was). So yesterday I got to celebrate the anniversary of my engagement with hundreds of other people laying flowers, waving flags and singing Latvian folk songs at the Freedom Monument (and of course the riot police see below).

This signs says Our Heads under their Roof (roughly translated) and then says 1905, 1917 and 1940 all years of historical significance with respect to Imperial or Soviet Russia.