The 2020 Confucius Institute Day-Mid-Autumn Festival celebration was successfully held at University of Latvia

On September 26, 2020, Confucius Institute at University of Latvia and Chinese Alumni Association of Latvia successfully held the 2020 “Confucius Institute Day-Mid-Autumn Festival” celebration in Auditorium of University of Latvia.The event was hosted by Karina Jermaka and Ivans Ņilovs, the president and vice president of Chinese Alumni Association of Latvia. Representatives from Chinese Embassy in Latvia, Faculty of Humanities of University of Latvia,Chinese Alumni Association of Latvia, various teaching sites of Confucius Institute at  University of Latvia, Latvian “Flying Brush Studio” and Chinese students in Latvia attended the event.

Professor Ina Druviete, Vice-rector of University of Latvia and Chairman of Confucius Institute, said in her speech that the annual Confucius Institute Day celebration and the anniversary celebration of University of Latvia are held at the same time, becoming one of the grand ceremonies of University of Latvia. The Confucius Institute is an important part of the discipline of humanities of University of Latvia. She is very happy to see so many young people learning Chinese language and Chinese culture. She wishes cultural exchanges between Latvia and China bears fruitful result.

The two directors of Confucius Institute at University of Latvia, Professor Peteris Pildegovics and Professor Shang Quanyu, stated in their speeches that in the unusual year of 2020, though the noval cronavirus epidemic is raging around the world, it cannot stop the enthusiasm of Chinese language learners. They sincerely thank Chinese Embassy in Latvia and University of Latvia as well as everyone present here for their consistent and strong support to the cause of Chinese language teaching in Latvia. They also sincerely hope that volunteer Chinese teachers can arrive in Latvia as soon as possible and continue to write a glorious chapter in Chinese language teaching in Latvia.

The content of the celebration was rich and varied. The two hosts told the moving story of the Mid-Autumn Festival respectively in Latvian and Chinese. The Lion Dance Studio performed a wonderful lion dance. The music teacher of Riga 34 Secondary School Svetlana Shibayeva led a student to perform song “Chong’er Fei”. Student from Confucius Classroom at Riga 34 Secondary School Anna Ņikitinu sang a beautiful song. Student from Chinese Alumni Association of Latvia Anastasija Petrova sang a romantic song. The first-year students of Chinese major of University of Latvia performed a chorus and the second-year students performed a drama. Karina Jermaka and her mother recited Li Bai’s “Quiet Night Thoughts” respectively in Chinese and Latvia. Later, the second-year students of Chinese major of University of Latvia held a Mid-Autumn Festival workshop to teach everyone to make jade rabbit lanterns. In the end, everyone tasted delicious moon cakes and Chinese food.

The epidemic is ruthless but people are affectionate, and Confucius Institute Day-Mid-Autumn Festival celebration is full of strong sentiment of Chinese language and culture.

2020年9月26日，拉脱维亚大学孔子学院和拉脱维亚留华同学会联手在拉脱维亚大学礼堂成功举办2020年“孔院日-中秋节”庆祝活动。活动由拉脱维亚留华同学会会长卡琳娜和副会长伊凡主持，中国驻拉脱维亚大使馆、拉脱维亚大学人文学院、拉脱维亚留华同学会、拉脱维亚大学孔子学院各个教学点、拉脱维亚飞笔中国画室、中国留学生等代表出席了活动。

拉脱维亚大学副校长兼孔子学院理事长伊娜·德鲁维叶戴教授在致辞中表示，每年的孔子学院日庆典和拉脱维亚大学周年庆典同时举行，成为拉脱维亚大学的盛典之一，孔子学院是拉脱维亚大学人文学科重要的组成部分，非常高兴看到这么多年轻人学习中文和中国文化，也衷心祝愿拉中人文交流硕果累累。拉脱维亚大学孔子学院两位院长贝德高教授和尚劝余教授在致辞中表示，2020年是不平凡的一年，虽然新冠疫情肆虐全球，但阻挡不了汉语学习者的满腔热忱，衷心感谢中国驻拉脱维亚大使馆和拉脱维亚大学以及在座各位对汉语教学事业的一如既往的大力支持，衷心祝愿汉语教师志愿者早日抵达拉脱维亚，继续书写拉脱维亚汉语教学的辉煌篇章。

此次庆典活动内容丰富多彩，两位主持人分别用拉中双语讲述了中秋节的动人故事，舞狮工作室表演了精彩的舞狮，里加34中学音乐老师什巴耶娃带领学生表演了歌曲《虫儿飞》，里加34中学孔子课堂学生安娜演唱了歌曲，拉脱维亚留华同学会贝娜西演唱了浪漫的《神话》，拉脱维亚大学中文专业一年级学生表演了小合唱，二年级学生表演了歌舞情景剧，卡琳娜和她妈妈分别用中拉文朗诵了李白的《静夜思》。之后，拉脱维亚大学中文专业二年级学生举办了中秋工作坊，教大家制作玉兔灯笼。最后，大家一起品尝了美味的月饼和中国美食。

疫情无情人有情，孔院日-中秋节庆典充满浓浓的汉语情和中国文化情。