BUDAPEST, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Janos Ader on Sunday called for protecting the country's borders and stressed the importance of the legacy of Hungary's old founding kings.
The president delivered a speech in front of the Parliament's building at a flag-raising ceremony that was held to celebrate the Hungarian national holiday, which commemorates Saint Stephen (969-1038), the founding king of Hungary. on the occasion of the Saint Stephen's Day.
"The definition of security is different from what it was a decade ago, we have yet again to defend the free and independent European country that Hungary has become through the sacrifice and hard work of millions of Hungarians since Saint Stephen," said Ader.
"We have to realize again, that we can have only truly as ours what we are able to defend over and over again," Ader told in front of 92 soldiers who took their solemn oath on the occasion of the greatest national holiday for Hungarians.
He added that Hungarian citizens expected the soldiers to safeguard "nation, home and personal life," and to protect the freedom and independence of Hungary, thus securing a common and peaceful future.
After a historical reminiscence, Ader spoke about another Hungarian King, Laszlo (11th century), who tied Hungary to the Western culture.
"He stood by the Christian Europe, so that Hungary could remain a country for Hungarians, a political nation proud of its European identity, an equal, free and independent state that cooperates with those who respect us, but resist those who want to curb our rights."
Ader also said that the country has received so much from Saint Stephen that his legacy was still valid after a millennium.
He said that without these two statesmen, "Hungarians might have become nothing more than mere dust on the highway of history, at the mercy of winds."
He also noted that not only kings and leaders needed to be remembered, but also the ordinary common people, who kept the country recovering from crises, who returned from detention camps, and who were the anonymous heroes of revolutions.
"Even though the parchment of chronicles had turned thin and yellow with ages, even though generations after generations have lived and died, notwithstanding that the world has changed, patriotism has remained intact," Ader stressed at the end of his speech. "It is enough if we love our motherland the same way our parents and their parents did: endlessly, because homeland comes first," he concluded.
After the oath-taking ceremony, a water and air parade was held before the Parliament over the Danube, Europe's second-longest river.
Members of the Hungarian government, parliament and many diplomats also attended the event.
In the evening, the festivals will end by a traditional firework in the Hungarian capital.
