Foreword

Our Translation

"A Latvian-German district gathered two years ago in pine-surrounded Fischbach, by Nuremberg, to celebrate the first Dziesmu Diena (Day of Song). This year, atop that same festival mount, we commemorated the First Latvian Song Festival — ours another first of its kind, a string which this year encircles the globe — everywhere, where Latvians live in colonies large and small.

"A thousand listeners and 700 active participants will indelibly remember this day, June 27, 1948, as a magical bridge to our ancient past, as a sacred pledge to our future.

"On the face of it, we are in an even bleaker situation than 75 years ago, but our spiritual inheritance over this period has so matured, our bearing so tempered at the forge of harsh circumstance, that nothing shall break us.

"When the most beautiful songs will have stopped sounding, when the festival flame will have been extinguished, when in place of our ornate costumes we have once again donned our work clothes, leaf through these pages, and moments will dawn like Latvian wonders in a foreign land, in foreign winds.

"Treasure those! In the forests of Canada, the pastures of Australia, the plantations of Brazil, the factories of America, they will call you home one day to sing:

God bless Latvia!

J ē k a b s   P o r u k s.          

Dziesmu Diena Fišbachā is reproduced as a Non-Protected work of reportage under Latvian Copyright Law §6. ¶4. Our reproduction for informational, educational, and research purposes additionally qualifies under §20. and §21.
latvians.com qualifies as a protected collection under Latvian Copyright Law Ch. II § 5 ¶ 1.2.
© 2024, S.A. & P.J. Vecrumba | Contact [at] latvians.com Terms of Use Privacy Policy Facebook ToS Peters on Twitter Silvija on Twitter Peters on Mastodon Hosted by Dynamic Resources