Every Day Is Special: Herzegovina

Showing posts with label Herzegovina. Show all posts

August 28 – Assumption of Mary in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Posted on August 28, 2017

Most Bosnians (about 51%) identify themselves as Muslims, but two of the largest groups of Christians are Roman Catholic (15% of the entire population) and the Serbian Orthodox (31%). Both of these Christian religions celebrate a holy day called the Assumption of Mary, although on different days. Today is the Assumption in the Serbian Orthodox church.

The story behind today's holiday is that Mary, the mother of the religion's central figure, Jesus, either never died but was physically lifted up to heaven...or she died like any normal person but three days later was resurrected (like Jesus) and that resurrected physical body was lifted up to heaven...or some similar story. I gather that different Catholic and Orthodox churches teach different things about Mary's departure from the Earth.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was once part of Yugoslavia and is now considered part of Eastern Europe.

Its capital, Sarajevo, is famous for blending east and west. There you can see a mosque (Muslim), a synagogue (Jewish), a cathedral (Catholic), and a church (Orthodox) quite close to one another.

Like nearby Croatia, Bosnia has some wonderful waterfalls, gorgeous gorges, and lovely coast scenery (but only a very short coastline). There are many cool historical buildings, picturesque bridges, and wonderful markets.

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the Peace Palace

Eat Crackers Over the Keyboard Day

Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day

Anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Anniversary of the discovery of a very special moon

Anniversary of MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech

Radio Commercials Day

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

November 25 – Statehood Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Posted on November 25, 2015

With Bosnia and Herzegovina's complicated and all-too-often violent history, it's difficult to agree on a certain day to celebrate the nation as a nation. That said, many regions in the nation celebrate November 25 as a sort of National Day.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the six nations that came into being when Yugoslavia ceased to exist, in 1992.

If you think that this country's name is long and difficult to pronounce, wait until I tell you that it is actually made up to two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic Srpska (which, frankly, doesn't have enough vowels in its name), plus a self-governing administrative unit called the Brcko District (also too few vowels)!

Yellow - Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Orange - Republika Srpska
Pale green - Brcko District

The name “Bosnia” comes from an Indo-European word bosana, which means water. So let's check out some of the more beautiful of the watery sights to see in the nation:

Stari Most

This popular bridge stood for more than four centuries but was destroyed by Croat forces in 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak War.

Well, that won't do! The bridge was one of the country's most recognizable landmarks and was considered a great example of Islamic architecture. So the bridge was reconstructed and reopened in 2004.

This bridge is a popular spot for bridge jumping and bridge diving.
(This is a composite photo of one tourist jumping off the bridge!)

Rama Lake

Prokosko Lake

Boracko Lake

Vrelo Bune (Buna Springs)

Trebizat River

Pliva Waterfall and watermills

Skakavac Waterfalls

From what I can tell, there is a series of falls and
cascades in Skakavac. Not a TON of water flow...

...which makes the falls a great place for "base jumping"
in summer, and a gorgeous frozen display in winter.

Strbacki Waterfalls

Kravice Waterfalls

To learn more about Bosnia and Herzegovina, check out this earlier post.

Also on this date:

Blasé Day

St. Catherine's Day

Anniversary of the development of cable television

Independence Day in Suriname

Evacuation Day

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

November holidays
November birthdays
Historical anniversaries in November

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December holidays
December birthdays
Historical anniversaries in December

May 6 – Đurđevdan

Posted May 6, 2015

Đurđevdan translates to "George's Day"—as in St. George.

As in the guy on a horse killing a dragon!

St. George is considered the patron saint of England, and that is why his feast day is still celebrated there every April 23. That is the traditionally accepted anniversary of his death in 303 C.E. (or A.D.).

However, St. George's feast day was April 23 on the Julian calendar. That translates to May 6 on the Gregorian calendar (which is the one we use nowadays).

Even though the people of Southern Slavic nations use the Gregorian calendar for most purposes, Eastern Orthodox Christianity generally still uses the Julian calendar for feast days and other religious holidays. So nations like Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo celebrate the feast day today. (I think. Honestly, I found all of this stuff about April 23 and May 6 quite confusing!)

A Southern Slavic version
of St. George killing a dragon.

Đurđevdan marks the beginning of spring, and some of the spring celebrations enjoyed in other nations on other days take place today in Southern Slavic nations. That includes having bonfires and decorating the home with flowers and blooming twigs, taking baths with flowers and washing with water from holy wells. Another slavic tradition is choosing girls to dress in leaves and play the part of Dodola goddesses by singing all through the village.

Even though this holiday has its basis in Christian traditions, with a Catholic saint and feast day, the connection with springtime celebrations, particularly the Dodola goddesses, comes from pagan traditions. In some areas, such as Bosnia and Kosovo, many Muslim people also celebrated Đurđevdan, at least in the past.

More about South Slavs...

In the past, just as in the present, people moved about trying to find resources and land; as they spread out and moved away from former neighbors, their languages and customs began to diverge as they evolved.

There are many nations that are settled by mostly “Slavic peoples,” largely defined by their Slavic languages. The South Slavs include the majority of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and a sizable minority in the Republic of Kosovo (a disputed nation).

Notice that the Southern Slavic nations, shown above in green, are cut off from the other Slavic nations by non-Slavic countries like Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.

Check out these flags and photos for each of the Southern Slavic nation:

Bosnia and Herzegovina: