For me, one of the most interesting things about travel is exploring how people in different countries celebrate something. What kinds of festivals do they have? What do they eat? How about drink? What signifiers resonate with them?



Basketball is the most popular sport in Latvia, so for Latvia Day (their day of national celebration), the city government put on a 24-hour long basketball game in the biggest park in Riga. Beer was the drink of choice for the most part, and the most popular unique dish was pilaf, a spiced rice and meat dish, served out of gigantic oil drums.