Festivities to celebrate the New Year begin in the evening of December 31 In recent years, both the President and Prime Minister address the people on national TV. While champagne toasts are common, many Latvian families partake in a variety of traditional rituals to ensure good luck and prosperity in the New Year.
Latvia is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic sea, sharing borders with Lithuania to the south, Estonia to the north, Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast.
Latvia, Republic of, a country in eastern Europe that was once a part of the Soviet Union. Latvia is bounded by Estonia. Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Riga.