If you are a travel junkie or a person who are fond maps, you probably have known Latvia by now. There are so much you extraordinarily beautiful aspects that the country holds, from its people to its cuisine. Hence, here are the basic things that you need to know about Latvia.
Quick Facts
Formally referred to as the Republic of Latvia, this country is located at Northern Europe’s Baltic Sea region. The neighboring borders are Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Estonia to the north, and Belarus to the southeast. In 1940, the country was inhabited and annexed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; but, got its independency 13 months after.
Riga is its capital and biggest city. Due to its location, the country is rich in rivers that stream down to the Baltic Sea. Latvia also has a bunch of lakes, where a couple of these particular bodies of water stretches up to 30 square kilometers. It is also significantly an undulating plain that has equitably even lowlands varying with hills. However, one main issue when it comes to preserving structure of the hills with highly cultivated lands is erosion.
People
Latvia is not just rich in waters, lands, floras, and faunas. The nation is also filled with amazing citizens that belong to different ethnic groups. For how many years, it has a multiethnic population. However, there was a great change in the demographics caused by the World Wars and other significant events, such as the migration and elimination of the Baltic Germans, the occurrence of the Holocaust, and the inhabitation of the Soviet Union.
Now, 3/5 of the population are ethnic Latvians, approximately ¼ are Russians, and the rest are composed of a bunch of Poles, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, etc. As a result, many residents speak a different language. Most speak Russians, but there are also some who speak Romany, Yiddish, and more. When it comes to religion, 26.0% of Latvians are nonreligious followed by Roman Catholics at 19%, Russian Orthodox at 16%, Lutherans at 14%, and the rest are other Orthodox, atheist, etc.
Cuisine
The Latvian cuisine plays a great role in preserving and highlighting the country’s culture. That said, these magnificent and delectable dishes are being featured in the remarkable food fiction anthology titled Remembrance of Meals Past by Anita Legsdin. Latvian Christmas cookies were also mentioned in the hit series Brooklyn 99 by the adoptive son of Charles Boyle named Nikolaj in the episode 10 of the 4th season. Thus, they make the readers and audiences more curious about Latvia and its dishes.
Latvian cuisine is basically comprised of agricultural goods, with meat as the star of almost all the dishes. Given the geographic location of the country, fish is among the common food eaten by Latvians apart from meat. The basic ingredients in cooking Latvian food are wheat, onions, potatoes, eggs, barley, pork, and cabbage. However, the availability of their dishes depends on their 4 seasons.
Their food is known to be fatty with only a bit of spices used. The common dishes that they serve are the Lido lunch comprised of cold beet soup, sauerkraut, cutlet, gherkin, kefir, and kvass. When it comes to dairy products, they have an abundant milk supply that made it possible to produce different types of cheese including cottage cheese which they referred as biezpiens and caraway cheese. They also have other products made of milk apart from cheese. Moreover, they also have wide arrays of soups, breads, pastries, and mushrooms that make their cuisine more interesting and flavorful.
Culture
Latvia has a rich cultural heritage. The different ethnic tribes inhabiting the country contributed to richness of the country’s culture. However, it is also because of the historic events that made the nation have a hard time restoring their own folktales, which gives them their identity.
Furthermore, Latvians conduct both religious and folkloric feasts. These spectacular events are filled with music and dance that are being executed by performers in vibrant costumes representing the different regions of Latvia. The most significant festival in the country is the Jāņi. It is a tradition conducted every midsummer that is inspired by the ancient pagan ceremonials that honor the summer solstice. There is even a belief that when the dawn breaks on the celebration of the said festival, people are not allowed to fall asleep or else they’ll attract bad luck.
The Happy Hammock 