Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia of the city centre traditionally starts at the monument of Kārlis Ulmanis, the first prime minister of Latvia, and ends at the Freedom Monument. Another tradition with a long history is the Latvian National Armed Forces parade, which nowadays is held at 11 November Embankment in Riga. A popular modern tradition established in 2009, is for people all over the world to sing the Latvian national anthem "Dievs, svētī Latviju!" at the same time (21:00 EET). Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia is celebrated annually on 18 November. It marks the anniversary
Geography of Latvia (central Latvia, Vidzeme Upland and Aluksne Upland), and Latgale (eastern Latvia), provide a picturesque pattern of fields interspersed with forests and numerous lakes and rivers. In this area, the extensive glacial moraines, eskers, and drumlins have limited the profitability of agriculture by fragmenting fields and presenting serious erosion problems. About 10% of Latvian territory consists of peat bogs, swamps, and marshes, some of which are covered by stunted forest growth. Forests are the outstanding feature of Latvia, claiming 52% of the territory. Over the past 100 years the amount of forest territories in Latvia has doubled, and the process is