March 15 national holiday marked in US Capitol

Hungarian and US dignitaries laid wreaths at the statue of Lajos Kossuth, a leader of the 1848 revolution and freedom fight, in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, in an event marking Hungary’s national holiday. Congresswoman Carol Miller, Republican of West Virginia, highlighted shared values of Hungary and the US such as the importance of family and faith, and a commitment to freedom. Szabolcs Takács, Hungary’s ambassador to the US, said Hungary had always been a small country in the vice of large, often hostile powers, and had survived many tragedies to become a sovereign, democratic state. Kossuth’s bust was placed in the Capitol’s Rotunda on March 15, 1990. Further events in Washington, DC, will include commemorations on March 15 at the Hungarian Cultural Institute and at the Hungarian embassy.