On July 6 Lithuanians celebrate their Statehood Day or Coronation Day. It is an annual public holiday to commemorate the coronation in 1253 of Mindaugas as the only King of Lithuania. The day has officially been celebrated since 1991.
Monument of Mindaugas in Druskieninkai ©communications-unlimited.nl
Lithuanians all over the world sing their anthem on this day at 9 pm to encompass their national unity. The tradition has been observed since 2009, when the anthem was performed to commemorate the millennium of the name of Lithuania.
The first known record of the name of Lithuania stems from a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno included in the Quedlinburg Chronicle (Latin: Annales Quedlinburgenses). This Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the Old Church Slavonic word for Lithuania — Литъва — Latinized as Litva.
References:
- Baranauskas, Tomas (Fall 2009). “On the Origin of the Name of Lithuania”. Lituanus. 55 (3): 28–36. ISSN 0024-5089.
- ^ Vilnius. Key dates. Retrieved in 18 January 2007.
- ^ “Lithuania”. Dictionary.com. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
