Human Flower Project
Orrington, MAINE USA
Murrieta, CALIFORNIA USA
Princeton, MAINE USA
Monday, September 07, 2009
A Flower for Knowledge in Latvia
The school year begins in Riga with ritual. Was this custom imposed by the Soviets or home grown in Latvia? Or both?
Knowledge Day at Balozu school, Latvia
Photo: Balozu skola
As bells ring—and in Texas high schools, the metal detectors are reactivated – the new year begins. We’ve been officially off the academic calendar for quite awhile now, but our neurochemistry still says September 1/Labor Day or just generally nowabouts is a new start.
Just so, Latvia’s Knowledge Day strikes us as right on, and right on time. September 1 is Zinību diena (“Knowledge Day”). On this, the first day of the school year, students dress quite formally – many in black and white, the boys especially handsome with their dark cravats on—and come to school with small gifts for their new teachers. Flowers, yes, are customary. (Note: Barack Obama has released the speech he’ll deliver to students tomorrow—perhaps we’re witnessing the inception of a “Knowledge Day” tradition here in the U.S. Mr. President, could you at least wear a boutonniere?)
From these pictures, it appears that Latvian pupils are ceremonially introduced to their new instructors, as parents stand proudly by. And in some schools, it seems students and teachers actually exchange gifts: a flower for a new book. The tradition is strong in Russia, too.