Lithuanian parliament considers adding social insurance, ecology, and hunters’ days to commemorative dates list

The Lithuanian parliament is reviewing proposals to expand the country’s list of official commemorative dates, including a Social Insurance Day on March 23, an Ecology Day on September 23, and a St. Hubert’s Day for hunters on November 3, LRT reports.

All three initiatives received initial support and will now be examined by parliamentary committees.

Social Security and Labour Minister Jūratė Zailskienė argued that March 23—when President Aleksandras Stulginskis signed the 1926 law establishing Lithuania’s social insurance system—should be marked as a professional holiday for social workers. “The centenary of this system reflects the maturity of the Lithuanian state, the continuity of its institutions, and their ability to provide long-term social guarantees even in the most difficult times,” she stated.

Conservative MP Mindaugas Lingė questioned whether the proposals would be fast-tracked to pass before March 23, jokingly asking if the parliament would also declare a “Liberation from the Second Pension Tier Day” as a public holiday.

Social Democrat Algirdas Sysas, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, pledged to register a bill on abolishing the second pension pillar “once the Seimas decides to stop funding it from all taxpayers’ money.”

Ilona Gelažnikienė, the MP behind the St. Hubert’s Day proposal, described November 3 as symbolising “responsible, ethical hunting, respect for nature, and community spirit,” noting hunters’ role in disease prevention and wildlife management.

Vytautas Sinica of the Mixed Parliamentary Group remarked on the irony of social democrats proposing a saint’s day, calling it “a day of ideological harmony in the Seimas.”

Bronis Ropė of the Farmers and Greens Union cited the EU’s precedent for Ecology Day, established in 2021 to raise awareness of climate challenges and sustainable living. Conservative Daiva Ulbinaitė noted that September 23 is already marked as both the Lithuanian Jewish Genocide Remembrance Day and International Sign Languages Day.

MP Ignas Vėgėlė criticised the repeated piecemeal amendments to the commemorative dates law, suggesting a single comprehensive review to avoid wasting parliamentary time. “Today alone we spent nearly an hour on this. We’ll spend another hour debating and another hour voting—let’s save each other’s time,” he said.

Lithuania’s current list of commemorative dates includes 99 entries.