Võidupüha

A Aero L-39 Albatros during the 2007 parade in Rapla.

Võidupüha or Victory Day in English is a Public holiday in Estonia which takes on June 23. It has been celebrated since 1934. The holiday marks the victory of Estonia in the Battle of Cēsis by the Baltische Landeswehr on June 23, 1919.

History

The battle was part of the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence, where Estonia was fighting the USSR. On June 23, 1919, Major General Major Ernst Põdder ordered his day-to-day command of the day that "the victories won over our stagnant and surrendered enemy, in cities and in the countryside, flags and armed units in the local garrisons were set up." ^[1] On February 16, 1934, the Riigikogu decided to turn the 23rd of June into a national holiday. The holiday was banned by the new soviet authorities in Estonia after the USSR re-established Soviet rule over Estonia in 1944. It became legal to celebrate Võidupüha again after Estonia regained its independence. The first celebrations of the holiday took place in 1992, in the Kadrioru Castle yard. Celebrations of Võidupüha has been organized by the Estonian Defense League since 2000.^[2]

Parades

Madis Kallas in Kuressaare during the Võidupüha celebrations, June 23, 2014.

Annual military parades have taken place in honor of Võidupüha in different cities of Estonia.

• 1994 Tartu
• 1995 Pärnu
• 1996 Narva
• 1997 Võru
• 1998 Viljandi
• 1999 Valga
• 2000 Haapsalu
• 2001 Pärnu
• 2002 Põlva
• 2003 Jõhvi
• 2004 Rakvere
• 2005 Paide
• 2006 Saaremaa
• 2007 Rapla
• 2008 Tallinn
• 2009 Jõgeva
• 2010 Viljandi
• 2011 Tartu
• 2012 Pärnu - It was the biggest parade since 1992. It was the third time Parnu has hosted the parade. ^[3]
• 2013 Haapsalu
• 2014 Valga
• 2015 Kärdla - The 2015 parade also saw a rising number of military contingents from NATO countries take part: Latvia, the United States, Finland, Poland and Sweden, while the parade of 2016, aside from the U.S. and Latvian troops also featured new contingents from Lithuania and Denmark.
• 2016 Võru
• 2017 Rakvere
• 2018 Tallinn - It was attended by Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili and Icelandic president Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson.^[4][5]

See also

• Independence Day (Estonia)

• Public holidays in Estonia

• Victory Day

References