Flag of Latvia is not just a nation’s flag, it’s like a sacred icon. You can guess that it’s not that commercialized as, for instance, American flag. You won’t find a shorts or toilet paper of it. If you have such a business idea, you might end up in prison. You might get punished if you display it on a simple stick or touch it with dirty hands.
A couple of months ago there was a case in Liepaja (small town in West Latvia). On one of Latvia’s many mourning days a janitor displayed Latvia’s flag on a broomstick. He did it just because he couldn’t find an appropriate shank (it was broken or something like that). So the guy got a big fine for this and was accused of motherland’s betrayal. There have been also cases in the past where people were criticized that they have “touched” the flag unduly or at the “wrong moment”. It is also bad for a foreigner to touch the Latvian flag as Latvians will think that you want to make fun out of it. Latvians think that the flag is a part of their body, something very personal. Actually it’s better not to touch it at all. Also if you forget to put the flag out on a mourning day (well, Latvia has only 5 festivity days versus 9 mourning days), you probably won’t get any fine at all or very little one. So, our best advice – avoid the flag!
