"I like how we actually care about one another and take care of each other," Kaljulaid said. "Sometimes this gets lost somehow below the surface, and scattered by disagreements. But in reality, as we were all here today, when we sing about our homeland, then we are smiling at everything and everyone."

Kaljulaid's husband Georgi-Rene Maksimovski said that when he thinks of Estonia, the first thing that comes to mind is Estonian nature, which he said is very special.

Maksimovski was pleased with the Independence Day concert. "I liked it because it clearly focused on our vintage and the top hits of people of our year of birth, which brought back memories of my youth," he explained.

Kaljulaid said that Independence Day traditions were honored in her family even while living and working in Luxembourg.

"Our traditions were far away from Estonia for years, because in Luxembourg we watched it all from a distance — as though through a keyhole — on TV," the Estonian president recalled. "But naturally we'd try to get black bread and sprats for the occasion. As always, people away from Estonia are often especially nostalgic, especially patriotic, and they eat black bread and sprats on every holiday, whether it's Independence Day, St. John's Day, Easter or Christmas. So did we in Luxembourg."