Baltic song festivals

Song and dance festivals in Baltic states

Baltic song and dance celebrations

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

25th Estonian Song Festival (2009)

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Country| Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
Reference| 00087
Region| Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription| 2008 (3rd session)
List| Representative

The Baltic song festivals (Estonian: laulupidu, Latvian: dziesmu svētki, Lithuanian: dainų šventė) are traditional amateur song and dance festivals in the Baltic States included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

The first song festival was held in Zürich, Switzerland in June 1843. It was attended by 2,184 singers (de:Schweizerisches Gesangsfest).[1] The tradition spread to Würzburg, Germany in 1845, and from there it reached the Baltic States via the Baltic Germans and their choral societies.[2] It was first held in 1869 in Estonia (Estonian Song Festival), and in 1873 in Latvia (Latvian Song and Dance Festival). Lastly, tradition came to the Lithuania (Lithuanian Song Festival) in 1924.[2]

The festivals are massive events, attracting some 30,000 singers. The festivals, held every five years in Estonia and Latvia, and every four years in Lithuania, celebrate traditional folk songs and dances. During the Soviet era, the festivals were a subtle political protest against communism.[3] In the late 1980s, the songs became an integral part of the independence movement, sometimes known as the Singing Revolution. In 2014, the Estonian Song Festival attracted a total of 159,300 people. This was the largest figure recorded since Estonian re-independence.

## Festivals

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### Estonia

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* Estonian Song Festival
* Estonian Dance Festival

### Latvia

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* Latvian Song and Dance Festival

### Lithuania

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* Lithuanian Song Festival

## References

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1. ^ Gudelis, Regimantas (2012). "Dainų švenčių ištakos ir liuteroniškoji muzikinė tradicija". Res humanitariae (in Lithuanian). 11: 116. ISSN 1822-7708. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
2. ^ a b Kasekamp, Andres (2010). A History of the Baltic States. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 95\. ISBN 9780230364516.
3. ^ Smidchens, Guntis (2014). The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution. University of Washington Press. p. 156\. ISBN 9780295804897.