State Day of Lithuania on July 6
State Day of Lithuania, also known as the day of the coronation of King Mindaugas, is a public holiday in Lithuania celebrated annually on 6 July. It marks an anniversary of the coronation of King Mindaugas, the first and only King of Lithuania, who was crowned on 6 July 1253.
After Mindaugas accepted Christianity in 1251, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was proclaimed a Catholic Kingdom of Lithuania by a papal bull written by Pope Innocent IV in Milan. This way, Grand Duke Mindaugas of Lithuania, who later became King of Lithuania, made a step towards international recognition of Lithuania in Europe. However, the coronation of King Mindaugas and his wife the Grand Duchess Morta was an even more significant achievement for Lithuania in that a papal decree established the Diocese of Lithuania, thus concurrently recognising the state of Lithuania.
The State Day of Lithuania has been celebrated since 1991. The pinnacle of the celebration is the universal singing of Lithuanian National Anthem, Tautiška Giesmė. Lithuanians all over the world at exactly the same time – 21:00 EEST – either in solitary or in groups, take a moment from their tasks and sing the national anthem.
