Culture Walls

Geography

Latvia is in the northern hemisphere in Europe . It touches Estonia and Lithuania. Latvia has the Daugaua river in the middle and divides Latvia in half. Latvia is known as the Baltic region. Latvia is larger than West Virginia and it covers 24,790 miles. 

Population

There are 2,366,515 people in Latvia. Most people age 15 or up can read and write.  Life Expectancy: T69 years female,  75.17 years male:63.13 years.

Economy

People grow crops , buy  clothes and have shelter by living in houses. They also buy meat and fish for food too. Plantations and stores are the goods and services that help and provide for people in Latvia. Also companies and products make goods such as clothes and tools to provide people.

Government

Latvia is a parliamentary democracy. The delegates are elected to a four year term. All citizens are allowed to vote from age 18 or up.

Fun and Recreation

People go berry and mushroom picking. The popular  sports are  basketball, hockey, biathlon, racing, fishing, boating, hunting, and orienteering. One game that the children play is leyball. 

Religion

Most of the people in Latvia are Christians. Due to the Soviet rule, half of all people do not go to church. 12% of Lutheran are found in Kurzeme, Vidzeme, and Zemgale. 

Family Values

Grand parents live with the family. When older members of a family become ill and need care during the day, it is the custom in Latvia for younger family members to care for the elder people.

The responsibilities of the mother and father is to go to work and raise money for the children. Both parents usually. They usually work outside the home. There is not a grandfathers Day.

Children go to school at age six. They are required to attend to primary school from grades five to nine. Students  go to college. Boy and girl students receive the same education. Some higher education is free.

Food

The crops that are grown in Latvia are tomatoes, potatoes ,onions ,beets ,cucumber , apples, mushrooms and berries. The staple foods are potatoes ,soup ,red meat ,poultry , and fish. The people get food by growing the crops themselves and they get meat by buying it at stores. A unique dish is bread because it is served in every meal.  The typical days menu is bread, butter ,tomatoes ,cold cuts ,porridge ,milk ,and coffee. They are allowed to eat any food. 

Social Etiquette

When Latvians eat, they hold a fork in the left hand and a knife in the right hand. The family members try to eat together as much as possible.  They keep napkins on the table so they don't get messy. The people usually go to restaurants.

Non-Verbal Communication

Latvian people greet each other by shaking hands with each other. They also hold  eye contact and sometimes the women give a light kiss. 

Language

Latvia uses a indo-European language. Latvia uses the Latin alphabet with diacritical marks. The official language is not English. It is Latin. Most people spoke Russian before 1991. Now most people speak Latin.     

Holidays and Festivals

Latvia celebrates New Years Day, Easter, Labor Day, Mothers Day, and Whitsunday. For Easter, people color them and decorate them by painting them and they put onions and flowers around them. For public holidays, people hold up flags attend speeches, and have parades.