In Lithuania is a special day on July 6th. Since 1991, a year later the regain the independence, they celebrate the coronation of King Mindaugas, happened in 1253. It was the first step of the birth of the state. In 1251 Mindaugas adopted Christianity and the Grand Ducky of Lithuania became Catholic Kingdom of Lithuania. The country was pagan at that time.
The paganism roots of Lithuania are visible in many things and even in some representations of the cross.
The highlight of the celebrations is the National Anthem sung by all Lithuanians, in the motherland and abroad, at the same time: 9pm Lithuanian Time.
We took part of the event in Vilnius. In the morning the official celebrations were in front of the Presidential Palace with the Lithuanian President, Gitanas Nausėda, and his guests: the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelens’kyj, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
Then at night there was a big show in Cathedral Square. A musical that told the story of the two heroes Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas who attempted the fly over the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to Lithuania, in 1933. And at the end, all together they sang the National Anthem.
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