Independence Day … in Belarus
By Marina Lohova
July 12, 2012
This month of July I am working from Belarus, my home country.
On July 3 we celebrated Independence Day of Belarus here, quite in sync with the Independence Day in United States.
Belarus was occupied by German troops for 3 years since 1941 during World War II, and on July 3, 1944 the Soviet army managed to release the capital of Belarus—Minsk.
Independence Day celebration starts with the military parade including tanks, jets, helicopters, and other bulky equipment.
The rehearsal of the parade is usually carried out a day before the parade in my neighborhood. Sometimes it is pretty unnerving to hear all the noise tanks and jets make on the streets and in the air.
The celebration continues with outdoor concerts and traditional Belorussian folk songs performances in many beautiful parks of the city.
It finishes with the fireworks display near “Stella”—a monument built to memorialize the fortieth anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Great Patriotic War is how we call a considerable part of World War II that happened on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Though not as famous as Macy’s fireworks, the “Stella” fireworks display was very cool this year. I also heard some traditional folk Belorussian songs from the concert earlier that day!
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