Latvians got a surprise day off today. Here’s why

Latvians wake up to go to work on Monday morning, only to find something unnecessary.

Parliament met at midnight to declare a holiday after the national ice hockey team achieved its best result in the world championship.

Latvia, where hockey is the national sport, co-hosted the men’s championship with Finland, and Latvia’s overtime victory over the USA for third place was greeted with joy. Canada won gold in the tournament and Germany silver.

The airBaltic plane carrying the team home from Finland made a high-flying flight over central Riga on Monday to greet thousands of fans who had gathered to welcome the squad.

At a quarter to midnight on Sunday, dressed in red and white national team jerseys, members of parliament gathered for a 10-minute session to unanimously declare a holiday.

It is “to strengthen the fact of outstanding success of Latvian athletes in the social memory of society,” according to the sponsor of the bill.

The bill was introduced by a smiling lawmaker with his face painted in the colors of the national flag. Others giggled as they tried to read the names of absent MPs, to laughter from many in the hall.

There was applause from all present after the final vote.

But in the morning after a midnight sit-up, there is confusion about who is working and who is not.

Court hearings were canceled and schools and universities were closed, but national exams for secondary school students went ahead, with staff paid holiday rates.

Businesses find themselves in some chaos, the president of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Aigars Rostovskis, told the NGO’s public broadcaster: “It will be chaos for many.”

Some hospitals choose to stay open to honor doctors’ appointments.