On February 16 (Monday), the library will be closed. We will celebrate freedom.
February 16 is a special day for all Lithuanians. On this day in 1918, the Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence. It declared the restoration of an independent Lithuanian state founded on democratic principles. We are grateful to our ancestors who did not wait for ideal conditions but took the risk and declared that we are free country. We only need to learn to celebrate this freedom.
On February 16, 1922, after a festive dinner with dancing, Mykolas Romeris wrote in his diary:
“On February 16, 1918, the Council in Vilnius, still under German occupation, unilaterally declared Lithuania’s Independence. Thus this day is Independence Day, the brightest celebration of the young state. Each year it is commemorated solemnly. This year as well, from early morning the city was decorated with the cheerful colors of the national flag and shields bearing the Vytis. Today neither state institutions nor shops are open. <…> Entertainment – cinema, theatre, concerts – were free of charge. In the evening there were fireworks, and Laisvės Avenue was beautifully illuminated.”
At the library information desk you will find a beautiful book published by the National Museum of Lithuania, Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence 1917–1920: The Idea Becomes a State. The photographs testify not only to the hardships of those years but also to the idealism of our statesmen and the strong determination of the nation to be free.
