Scholarly record

ST. VALENTINEВ’S DAY IN THE BORDERLAND: THE SPECIFICITY OF PERCEPTION IN LATGALE REGION (LATVIA)

Oksana Kovzele

Abstract

Festivities are one of the most stable forms of spiritual culture which undergo significant transformations as the result of globalization. Not only the spectrum of festivities, their functions, and traditions, but also the attitudes of people and their knowledge about festive culture are changing. The influence of festivities, having originated in Western Europe (St. Valentine’s Day, Halloween, etc.), is another significant trend that has become evident in contemporary Latvia. The research analyses the specificity of the perception of St. Valentine’s Day in the south-eastern region of Latvia – Latgale (the major object of the research). Taking into account the multinational and multi-religious structure of the population in Latgale, as well as its status as a borderland phenomenon, this research is of particular importance in determining the transformations of modern festive culture. In order to provide an accurate analysis of the specific character of the region’s culture, the data from a similar survey conducted in the Pskov Region in Russia (the minor object of the research) have been employed. The aim of the research – to analyse the perception of St. Valentine’s Day in Latvia, choosing Latgale Region as a major object of research. The tasks include: 1) describing the ways of adopting this festivity in Latgale; 2) summarizing the attitudes of the regional population towards St. Valentine’s Day based on their participation in the event, the observance of its traditions, and acquiring its attributes; 3) determining to what extent this perception is influenced by the main demographic indicators (gender, age, ethnic origin, level of education, marital status, number of children in the family, and place of residence); 4) comparing the perception of St. Valentine’s Day in Latgale with the perception in the cross-border area (the Pskov Region in Russia). The research methods include: survey, quantitative and qualitative processing of data, and comparative method. The research performance indicators are: 467 questionnaires, 68 interview records, and 39 publications available in local periodicals.

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