LATVIA – Culture news
With the first snow, Riga is being decked out in Christmas decorations. This year, the capital’s Christmas decorations will take on a new dimension and cultural events will take on a different feel, to be broadcast widely not just in cultural centres, but also in the city centre and neighbourhoods.

This year the visual design of Christmas and festive greetings for Riga residents was created by Latvian artist, illustrator and architect Anna Vaivare. The artist is known as the author of illustrations and comics for children’s books, and is also the winner of the Janis Baltvilka Children’s Book Art Award.
Festive motifs and images created by the artist adorn the city’s environmental stands and posters, inviting you to meet the wonders of Christmas in Riga. In early December, some posters will be adorned with Christmas decorations inspired by the artist’s illustrations.
In previous years, the city’s usual blue-coloured light decorations have been complemented this year by new decorations – warmly-lit keys to Riga, rooted in the city’s historic emblems and a renewed graphic identity. They have already been placed on the lampposts of the Vanshu Bridge and the Kalnciema Street overpass.
The motifs of the keys to the city will also be reflected in the festive Christmas tree of Ratslaukum, which will be decorated there in time for the First Coming. A total of 18 municipal Christmas trees will be decorated near public cultural centres, parks and squares in the town, and 21 locations in the town will have trees donated by the municipality.
More information:
To find out more about the events organised by Riga Municipality dedicated to the Christmas waiting time, please visit svetki.riga.lv, as well as follow their news on the «Rīga» social network Facebook page.
From next week the printed Christmas programs will be available in Riga municipal libraries, cultural centres, service points for inhabitants of district centres, as well as in the Riga Tourist Information Centre.