Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Students' Magazine

Every February young souls get excited when a big day comes: the day of Love. For ones St Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to confess about their feelings to their secret sympathies; for others it is a joyful time that they can spend with their girlfriend/boyfriend. And for some it‘s just another reminder of their loneliness and a start of usual february depression. But still, each and every one of us is somehow touched by this day and celebrates it in one way or another.

Yet for Lithuanians St. Valentine`s Day is just two days before another huge festival – the Day of Independence. For those who might not know anything about it, the 16th of February is a day that dates back to 1918, when Lithuania declared its independence from the Russian Empire. The day as Lithuanians know it is always a huge celebration with national flags hanging from everybody’s house, parades taking place in every single city or town, and patriotic movies overflowing all of the television networks. This surely is a day to remember and admire the bravery of people who put their signatures on a document that determined Lithuanian history as we know it. 

However, the contemporary youth tends to forget the greatness of that day and prefers red plastic hearts and an illusion of love all around to the magnificent feeling of admiration and pride of their country. A randomly selected Lithuanian would most probably get twice or even three times more greetings on St. Valentine’s Day than he or she might receive on the 16th of February. And to be completely honest, it’s a shame. Of course, being in love is more fun than being patriotic, but still, history is something we should not forget. 

Another example of newly implemented celebrations in the Baltics is Halloween. For the last few years, young people got a hold of the Western tradition to dress up as anything they can never be and party like crazy. Or should we say like hell? But some might not be aware of the fact that throughout the years the 1st of November was a bigger and more touching festivity in Lithuania. This day was meant to be the Day of Hollows (“Velines” in Lithuanian), and the purpose was to visit graves of their beloved ones, light candles and remember all  the good moments spent with them. 

Of course, the decision is made based on one criterion: fun. The Western culture is well-known for its inclination for hedonism – the “bread and games” principle is still blossoming in our society. Well, from the other side, partying people means money for entertainment providers, which means bigger salaries for their employees, which leads to more consumption...So, simply saying, by this hedonistic culture influence we make some parties better off. 

Here comes the time for a significant BUT. Disregarding benefits that such consumption provides, we can see that it is closely related to diminishing cultural identity and, as in a certain country, the whole ethnic group’s perception extinction. Everyone is becoming a huge grey mass with a mutual understanding level and a “filling“of pop – culture. Europeans usually like to mock Americans for their artificial reactions and fake smiles. Guess who is trying to catch them? Still, the reason for an extra party is always more than welcomed: party if you pass; party if you fail; party before the exam; party after the exam; party to celebrate the “hard” Monday and etc. etc. Like we love to say: “Study hard, party harder”. In fact, all that can be offered is to make sure that you haven’t become the mannequin with a plastic heart and a fake smile.