LATVIAN GRADUATIONS

USA graduations: cap and gown; pomp and circumstance; tassels; speeches; marching in and out; tossing caps; hugs and kisses; the banned beach balls; yelling when a family member's name is called; standing up and getting that picture no matter who else you are keeping from seeing their child....

Latvian graduations: formal dress; traditional music (lots of music); traditional dance; drama and music aimed at explaining the theme of graduation; flowers; flowers; flowers; no beach balls; nothing loud, just quiet dignity.

 

Several of our student friends from our church or that we have coached were graduating this past weekend. Latvian ceremonies are completely different than USA. There are no gowns, just nice dark suits and new dresses. Instead of marching in to the football stadium, the students enter as different classes and then it completely loses any resemblance to American celebrations.

The students in Latvia in most schools keep the same group of students in each class. In other words, if you are in class 'B', then your schedule is the same as all of the other students in 'B' class. The good is that you become very close to your classmates because you are with them several hours each day. The bad is that you really do not know many students very well from the rest of the school. But, for graduation, there seems to be a real closeness with each class and its 'home' teacher.

The graduation on Saturday had four classes - 'A' to 'D'. They each come separately into the large Sports Halle. They all end up on the gym floor where they form a circle. They walk around the gym a few times, adding teachers and school officials on each circle.

At the beginning they also have a short drama depicting the senior class motto. It was odd to see a small boat, a ship's captain in full uniform and his band of sailors doing a traditional Latvian dance. Other dancers in full costume soon entered and joined the dancing accompanied by Latvian folk music. It was odd to us but was certainly enjoyed by the Latvians.

Eventually (about 1.5 hours later) the awarding of diplomas began. Several students names are called, they receive their diploma and then they walk to different areas of the gym floor. At a signal from the director, music begins playing and people pour out of the bleachers bearing bouquets of flowers. Every kind of flower imaginable can be seen. We aren't just talking about the girls; even the boys receive flowers from other boys. Some the students received so many flowers they have to lay them beside their chair just so they can receive more. Along with the students receiving flowers, the teachers also were given many bouquets by the teachers and parents.

It is great watching this tradition but it is just a little bit on the slow slide. The festivities began at 4:00p and they finished right at 8:00pm. There were 144 graduates and each enjoyed a few minutes of glory and plenty of flowers.

We always enjoy seeing culture in action; it was a great afternoon but a couple of things really stood out during the ceremonies:

1- There was absolutely no security present. No policeman, no guards, no school police. Who would even attempt to hold something like this in the USA without armed security. It is sad to think that we can't even have an event celebrating graduation without a dozen policemen around.

2- The graduating seniors acted exactly as you would expect young people to act. No "hey world, look at me!", no embarrassing their parents by their antics, no disrespect to their teachers and administrators. Even after four hours they were still quietly enjoying themselves and displaying the dignity one should have at a service like this.

3- The parents acted better than the students. No pushing or shoving to get that special picture. No screaming and yelling when their baby's name was called. It was just quietly being proud of their child. A very refreshing change, indeed. We heard no air horns, clanging cowbells or 'woo, woo, woo'.

Congratulations graduates of 2010