Ader advocates joy of life, patriotism in New Year address

Budapest, January 1 (MTI) – President Janos Ader pointed to the importance of “patriotism together with a joy of life” in his New Year address aired on Hungarian public television just after midnight, on Wednesday.

2014 is still “another fair white page for us to write our own words, our own history on,” he said, and referred to developments in Hungary 25 years ago: “We, Hungarians, decided that we want to live free, breathe free, and decide freely how we want to manage public affairs”.

A quarter of a century ago “some contributed deeds, others ideas, words spoken without fear, or hope in their hearts to a transition which ended a decades-long dictatorship,” Ader said.

Speaking about patriotism, the president said it was “a simple manifestation of belonging”, similar to “the blood of our parents in our veins”. “Patriotism means respect for others and accepting ourselves, appreciating all that has come down on us from our ancestors, all that we have preserved and will leave to the generations to come.”

The word also means that “we have something to treasure, something to pass on to our children, we have a homeland, a past and a future, and we have a reason to keep the hope alive in our heart,” he added.

In his address, Ader made special mention of mothers, and welcomed all babies born in 2013 and those that were expected in 2014.

Photo: MTI – László Beliczay

Source: http://hungarymatters.hu/