Serbian culture
Encyclopedia
Serbian culture refers to the culture of Serbia
and of ethnic Serbs
.
The Serbian culture starts with that of the South Slavic peoples that lived in the Balkans
. Early on, Serbs may have been influenced by the Paleo-Balkan peoples. The Byzantine Empire
had a great influence on the culture; Serbs were initially governing the Byzantine frontiers in the name of the emperor and were later through their sworn alliance given independence, baptized by Greek missionaries and adopted the Cyrillic alphabet
. The Serbian Orthodox Church
gained autocephaly from Constantinople
in 1219. The Republic of Venice
influenced the maritime regions in the Middle Ages
. The Ottoman Empire
conquered Serbia in 1459, which lasted four centuries, consequences of which suppressed Serbian culture but also influenced greatly in arts. The culture flourished from 1718 in parts under the Habsburg Monarchy
.
Following autonomy after the Serbian revolution
and eventual independence, the culture of Serbia could be restrengthened within its peoples.
Socialist realism
was predominant in official art during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
but recent decades have seen a growing influence from Western and traditional Serbian art.
from paganism to Christianity began in the early 7th century, long before the Great Schism
, the split between the Greek Orthodox
East and the Roman Catholic West, the Serbs were first Christinaized during the reign of Heraclius (610-641) but were fully Christianized by Byzantine Christian Missionaries (Saints) Cyril and Methodius in 869 during Basil I
, who sent them after Knez Mutimir
, had acknowledged the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire
. After the Schism, those who lived under the Byzantine sphere of influence
became Orthodox and those who lived under the Roman sphere of influence became Catholic
. Later, with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire
, many Serbs were converted into Islam
, which today are considered to be members of the Gorani
and Bosniaks
(Muslims by nationality
).
Geographically this nation's Church
represents the westernmost bastion of Orthodox Christianity
in Europe
, which shaped its historical fate through contacts with Catholicism
and Islam
.
The Serbs have suffered much in the history because of their religion. When the Ottoman Turks took over the Balkans, the Christians were not regarded as a people of the nation and were not able to own land etc. Many Serbs were converted against their will or converted without force for a better stance in the society or as slaves to the Ottomans in the Janissaries. In the World War II, the Serbs, living in a wide area, were persecuted by various people and organizations. The Catholic Croats under the Fascist Ustasha regime who recognized the Serbs only as "Croats of Eastern faith" and had the ideological visions of 1/3 of the Serbs murdered, 1/3 converted and the last third expulted. The outcome of these visions were the death of at least 700,000 (only the victims in the Jasenovac concentration camp
), 250,000 converted and 250,000 expelled.
Popular names are mostly of Serbian (Slavic), Christian (Biblical), Greek and Latin origin.
as -ic or -ici. In history, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to, for historical reasons, as Milutin Milankovitch.
The -ić suffix is a Slavic
diminutive
, originally functioning to create patronymic
s. Thus the surname Petrić signifies little Petar, as does, for example, a common prefix Mac ("son of") in Scottish & Irish, and O' (grandson of) in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić but that some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname with many common names being spread out among tens and even hundreds of non-related extended families.
Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in which is the Slavic possessive case
suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Those are more typical for Serbs from Vojvodina
. The two suffixes are often combined.
The most common surnames are Marković, Nikolić, Petrović, and Jovanović.
, Sarma
(stuffed cabbage), podvarak
(roast meat with Sauerkraut
) and Moussaka
. Česnica
is a traditional bread for Christmas
Day.
Slivovitz
, a distilled fermented plum juice is the national drink of Serbia with 70% of domestic plum production being used to make it. Domestic wines are also popular. Turkish coffee
is widely drunk as well.
Serbs speak the Serbian language
, a member of the South Slavic
group of languages, specifically in the Southwestern Slavic group with the Southeastern Slavic languages including Macedonian and Bulgarian. It is mutually intelligible with the standard Croatian
and Bosnian language
(see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian
) and some linguists still consider it part of the pre-war Serbo-Croatian language
.
The Serbian language comprises several dialects, the standard language is based on the Stokavian dialect.
It is an official language in Serbia
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Montenegro
. In Hungary
, Slovakia
, Croatia
, the Macedonia
and Romania
, it is a regionally recognized minority language.
There are several variants of the Serbian language. The older forms of Serbian are Old Serbian and Russo-Serbian, a version of the Church Slavonic language.
Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia
, using both Cyrillic and Latin
alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
was devised in 1814 by Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles, the Cyrillic itself has its origins in Cyril and Methodius transformation from the Greek script.
Loanwords in the Serbian language are mostly from Turkish
, German
and Italian
, words of Hungarian
origin is present mostly in the north and Greek
words mostly in the liturgy.
Two Serbian words that are used in many of the world's languages are vampire
and paprika
. Slivovitz
and ćevapčići
are Serbian words which have spread together with the Serbian food/drink
they refer to. Paprika
and Slivovitz
are borrowed via German
; paprika itself entered German via Hungarian. Vampire
entered most West European languages through German-language texts in the early 18th century and has since spread widely in the world.
is one of the earliest works of Serbian literature dating from between 1180 and 1191 and one of the most important works of the medieval period. This work was entered into UNESCO
's Memory of the World program in 2005. Serbian epic poetry
was a central part of medieval Serbian literature based on historic events such as the Battle of Kosovo
.
is an exclusive custom of the Serbs, each family has one patron saint that they venerate on their feast day. The Serbian Orthodox Church
uses the traditional Julian Calendar
, as per which Christmas Day (December 25) falls currently on January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar
, thus the Serbs celebrate Christmas on January 7, shared with the Orthodox churches of Jerusalem
, Russia
, Georgia
, Ukraine
and the Greek Old Calendarists
.
The Serbs are a highly family-oriented society. A peek into a Serbian dictionary and the richness of their terminology related to kinship
speaks volumes.
Of all Slavs
and Orthodox Christians
, only Serbs have the custom of slava
. Slava is celebration of a saint; unlike most customs that are common for the whole people, each family separately celebrates its own saint (of course, there is a lot of overlap) who is considered its protector. A slava is inherited, mostly, though not exclusively from father to son (if a family has no son and a daughter stays in parental house and her husband moves in, hers, not his, slava is celebrated). Each household has only one saint it celebrates, which means that the occasion brings all of the family together. However, since many saints (e.g. St. Nicholas, St. John the Baptist, St. George, St. Archangels of Gabriel and Michael, and the Apostles St. Peter and Paul) have two feast days, both are marked.
The traditional dance is a circle dance
called kolo
, which is common among Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins and Macedonians. It is a collective dance, where a group of people (usually several dozen, at the very least three) hold each other by the hands or around the waist dancing, forming a circle
(hence the name), semicircle or spiral
. It is called Oro in Montenegro. Similar circle dances also exist in other cultures of the region.
Serbs have their own customs regarding Christmas
. The Serbian Orthodox Church
uses the Julian calendar
, so Christmas currently falls on January 7 of the Gregorian calendar
. Early in the morning of Christmas Eve, the head of the family would go to a forest in order to cut badnjak, a young oak
, the oak tree would then be brought into the church to be blessed by the priest. Then the oak tree would be stripped of its branches with combined with wheat and other grain products would be burned in the fireplace. The burning of the badnjak is a ritual which is most certainly of pagan origin and it is considered a sacrifice to God (or the old pagan gods) so that the coming year may bring plenty of food, happiness, love, luck and riches. Nowadays, with most Serbs living in towns, most simply go to their church service to be given a small parcel of oak, wheat and other branches tied together to be taken home and set afire. The house floor and church is covered with hay
, reminding worshippers of the stable
in which Jesus
was born.
Christmas Day itself is celebrated with a feast, necessarily featuring roasted piglet
as the main meal. The most important Christmas meal is česnica
, a special kind of bread. The bread contains a coin; during the lunch, the family breaks up the bread and the one who finds the coin is said to be assured of an especially happy year.
Christmas is not associated with presents like in the West
, although it is the day of Saint Nicholas
, the protector saint of children, to whom presents are given. However, most Serbian families give presents on New Year's Day. Santa Claus (Deda Mraz (literally meaning Grandpa Frost)) and the Christmas tree (but rather associated with New Year's Day
) are also used in Serbia as a result of globalisation. Serbs also celebrate the Old New Year
(currently on January 14 of the Gregorian Calendar
).
On Orthodox Easter
, Serbs have the tradition of Slavic Egg decorating
.
Another related feature, often lamented by Serbs themselves, is disunity and discord; as Slobodan Naumović puts it, "Disunity and discord have acquired in the Serbian popular imaginary a notorious, quasi-demiurgic status. They are often perceived as being the chief malefactors in Serbian history, causing political or military defeats, and threatening to tear Serbian society completely apart." That disunity is often quoted as the source of Serbian historic tragedies, from the Battle of Kosovo
in 1389 to Yugoslav wars
in 1990s. Even the contemporary notion of "two Serbia's"—one supposedly national, liberal and Eurocentric, and the other conservative, nationalist and Euroskeptic—seems to be the extension of the said discord. Popular proverbs "two Serbs, three political parties" and "God save us from Serbs that may unite!", and even the unofficial Serbian motto "Only Unity Saves the Serbs
" (Samo sloga Srbina spasava) illustrate the national frustration with the inability to unite over important issues.
As with many other peoples, there are popular stereotypes on the local level: in popular jokes and stories, inhabitants of Vojvodina
(Lale) are perceived as phlegmatic, undisturbed and slow; Montenegrins are lazy and pushy; southern Serbians are miser
s; Bosnia
ns are raw and stupid; people from Central Serbia are often portrayed as capricious and malicious, etc.
In Krajište and Vlasina there are epic stories of the extermination of Roman males in a battle, and of the settling of Russians (Antes)
During Ottoman
rule, Serbs were forbidden to own property, to learn to read and write and denied the use of musical instruments. Church music had to be performed in private. Gusle
, a one-stringed instrument, was invented by Serbian peasants during this time in an effort to find a loophole through the stringent Ottoman laws. Filip Višnjić
was a particularly notable guslar (gusle player). In the 18th century, Russian and Greek chant schools were established and the Serbian Orthodox Church accepted Church Slavonic into their liturgy.
Folk music enjoyed a resurgence in the nineteenth century. Jozip Slezenger founded the Prince's Band playing music based on traditional tunes. Stevan Mokranjac, a composer and musicologist collected folk songs as well as performing his own work. Kornelije Stankovic
wrote the first Serbian language works for choirs.
Traditional Serbian folk music remains popular today especially in rural areas. Western rock and pop music has become increasingly popular especially in cities with rock acts such as Riblja Čorba
and Đorđe Balašević incorporating political statements in their music. Turbo-folk
combined Western rock and pop styles with traditional folk music vocals. Serbian immigrants have taken their musical traditions to nations such as the US and Canada.
Serbia recently won the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest
.
was established in 1861 with its building dating from 1868. The company started performing opera from the end of the 19th century and the permanent opera was established in 1947. It established a ballet company.
Bitef
, Belgrade International Theatre Festival, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in the world. New Theatre Tendencies is the constant subtitle of the Festival. Founded in 1967, Bitef has continually followed and supported the latest theater trends. It has become one of five most important and biggest European festivals. It has become one of the most significant culture institutions of Serbia.
The cinema was established reasonably early in Serbia with 12 films being produced before the start of World War II. The most notable of the prewar films was Mihail Popovic's The Battle of Kosovo in 1939.
Cinema prospered after World War II. The most notable postwar director was Dušan Makavejev
who was internationally recognised for Love Affair: Or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator in 1969 focussing on Yugoslav politics. Makavejev's Montenegro was made in Sweden in 1981. Zoran Radmilović
was one of the most notable actors of the postwar period.
Serbian cinema continued to make progress in the 1990s and today despite the turmoil of the 1990s. Emir Kusturica
won a Golden Palm for Best Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival
for Underground in 1995. In 1998, Kusturica won a Silver Lion for directing Black Cat, White Cat
.
As at 2001, there were 167 cinemas in Serbia (excluding Kosovo
and Metohija
) and over 4 million Serbs went to the cinema in that year. In 2005, San zimske noći
(A Midwinter Night's Dream ) directed by Goran Paskaljević
caused controversy over its criticism of Serbia's role in the Yugoslav wars
in the 1990s.
was known for its black pottery. Pirot
in eastern Serbia became known for its ceramics under the Ottomans with the potters following Byzantine designs. It also became a centre for the production of Kilim
s or rugs.
The Slavs introduced jewellery making to Serbia in the sixth century AD. Metalworking started to develop on a significant scale following the development of a Serbian state. Workshops were set up in towns, large estates and in monasteries. The Studenica Monastery was known for the quality of its goldsmithing. Coins were minted not only by the kings but some of the wealthier nobility. The nobility also was influenced by the wealth of the Byzantine court. Metalworking like many other arts and crafts went into decline following the Ottoman conquest. However, there was a partial revival in later centuries with a strong Baroque influence notably the 17th century silverwear at "Our Lady on the Rocks" on Boka Kotorska.
founded in 1904 is the oldest daily newspaper in the Balkans. There were also 491 periodical magazines published in Serbia with the Nedeljne informativne novine
(NIN) and Vreme
amongst the most notable.
Television broadcasting started in 1958 with every country in the former Yugoslavia having its own station. In Serbia, the state television station was known as RTB and became known as RTS after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Under the Communists and Milošević regime, state broadcasting was controlled by the ruling party. The RTS station was bombed during the NATO action against the Milošević regime due to its propaganda role under that regime.
There was some private broadcasting with the B92
radio and television station starting in 1989 although it was shut down in 1999 during the hostilities. After the fall of Milošević, RTS became known as Nova RTS as an assertion of independence while B92 commenced broadcasting. During 2001, there were 70 television centres in Serbia of which 24 were privately owned. In 2003, there was a return to censorship as the Government of Zoran Zivkovic
temporarily imposed a state of emergency following the assassination of Zoran Djindjic and the European Federation of Journalists
continues to hold concerns over media freedom in the country.
in Belgrade
, the Gallery of Frescoes featuring Orthodox Church art, the Ethnographic Museum
and the Princess Ljubica's Residence. Novi Sad
contains the Vojvodina Museum as well as the Petrovaradin
fortress.
Matica Srpska
is the oldest and most notable cultural and scientific organisation in today's Serbia
. Its name is translated in Serbian
as the Serbian matrix or parent body of the Serbs
. It was founded in 1826 in Budapest
and moved to Novi Sad
in 1864. Amongst other achievements, it compiled a six-volume study of the Serbian language between 1967 and 1976. Its journal Letopis Matice Srpske is one of the oldest periodical examining scientific and cultural issues anywhere in the world. Vojvodina
province of Austro-Hungary became attractive for Serbs
ever since the fall of Serbia
in 15th century, and was the site of the Great Serbian Migrations
, when Serbs colonized this area escaping Turkish
vengeance. Sremski Karlovci
became the spiritual, political and cultural centre of the Serbs
in the Habsburg Empire, with Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church
residing in the town. To this day, the Patriarch of Serbia
retains the title of Metropolitan of (Sremski) Karlovci. The town featured the earliest Serb and Slavic
grammar school (Serbian
: gimnazija/гимназија, French
: Lycée) founded on August 3, 1791. In 1794 an Orthodox seminary was also founded in the town, ranking second oldest in the World (After the Spiritual Academy in Kiev). Novi Sad
is home to Serbia's oldest professional
theatre, founded in 1861 as Srpsko Narodno Pozoriste, followed by Belgrade
in 1868; however two other cities claim this title: City of Kragujevac Knjazesko Srbski Teatar
since 1835 and Subotica
since 1851 (*there were theatres throughout Serbia long before that time but cannot be classified as "professional
".
There is a strong network of libraries with three national libraries, 689 public libraries, 143 higher education libraries and 11 non-specialised libraries as at 1998. The National Library of Serbia
is the most significant of these. Project Rastko
founded in 1997 is an Internet Library of Serb culture.
Roots to the Serbian education system date back to 11th and 12th centuries when first Catholiccolleges were founded in Vojvodina
(Titel, Bac). Medieval Serbian education however was mostly conducted through the Serbian Orthodox Monasteries
(UNESCO
protected Sopoćani
, Studenica, Patriarchate of Peć
) starting from the rise of Raška
in 12th century, when Serbs
overwhelmingly embrassed Orthodoxy
rather than Catholicism
. First European style higher education facilities however were founded in CatholicVojvodina
, Teacher's College in Subotica
in 1689, although several facilities have functioned even before (f.e. Jesuit School in Belgrade
, since 1609). Following short-lived Serbian independence between 1804 and 1813, Belgrade
officially became an educational centre of the country (excluding Vojvodina
). The University of Belgrade
is the biggest and most prestigious institution of higher education in Serbia, founded as the Belgrade Higher School in 1808. The Gymnasium Jovan Jovanović Zmaj was founded in 1810 and many important Serb cultural figures studied there.
Within the Government of Serbia
, the Serbian Ministry for Culture is responsible for administering its cultural facilities.
Both the eagle and the cross, besides being the basis for various Serbian coats of arms
through history, are bases for the symbols of various Serbian organizations, political parties, institutions and companies.
Serbian folk attire varies, mostly because of the very diverse geography
and climate
of the territory inhabited by the Serbs. Some parts of it are, however, common:
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and of ethnic Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
.
The Serbian culture starts with that of the South Slavic peoples that lived in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. Early on, Serbs may have been influenced by the Paleo-Balkan peoples. The Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
had a great influence on the culture; Serbs were initially governing the Byzantine frontiers in the name of the emperor and were later through their sworn alliance given independence, baptized by Greek missionaries and adopted the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
. The Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
gained autocephaly from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1219. The Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
influenced the maritime regions in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
conquered Serbia in 1459, which lasted four centuries, consequences of which suppressed Serbian culture but also influenced greatly in arts. The culture flourished from 1718 in parts under the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
.
Following autonomy after the Serbian revolution
Serbian revolution
Serbian revolution or Revolutionary Serbia refers to the national and social revolution of the Serbian people taking place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a constitutional monarchy and a modern nation-state...
and eventual independence, the culture of Serbia could be restrengthened within its peoples.
Socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
was predominant in official art during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
but recent decades have seen a growing influence from Western and traditional Serbian art.
Religion
Conversion of the South SlavsSouth Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
from paganism to Christianity began in the early 7th century, long before the Great Schism
East-West Schism
The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...
, the split between the Greek Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
East and the Roman Catholic West, the Serbs were first Christinaized during the reign of Heraclius (610-641) but were fully Christianized by Byzantine Christian Missionaries (Saints) Cyril and Methodius in 869 during Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
, who sent them after Knez Mutimir
Mutimir of Serbia
Mutimir of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca 850 until 891. He defeated the Bulgar Army, allied himself with the Byzantine Emperor and ruled the First Serbian Principality when the Christianization of the Serbs took place and the Eparchy of Ras was established.He was the eldest son of Knez...
, had acknowledged the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. After the Schism, those who lived under the Byzantine sphere of influence
Sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
became Orthodox and those who lived under the Roman sphere of influence became Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. Later, with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, many Serbs were converted into Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, which today are considered to be members of the Gorani
Gorani
Gorani may refer to:In culture:* Gorani people, a Balkan ethnic groupIn geography:* Gorani, a village in Uda Commune, Argeş County, Romania* Gorani, a village in Odăile Commune, Buzău County, Romania...
and Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
(Muslims by nationality
Muslims by nationality
Muslims by nationality was a term used in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as an official designation of nationality of Slavic Muslims. They were one of the constitutive groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
).
Geographically this nation's Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
represents the westernmost bastion of Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, which shaped its historical fate through contacts with Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
The Serbs have suffered much in the history because of their religion. When the Ottoman Turks took over the Balkans, the Christians were not regarded as a people of the nation and were not able to own land etc. Many Serbs were converted against their will or converted without force for a better stance in the society or as slaves to the Ottomans in the Janissaries. In the World War II, the Serbs, living in a wide area, were persecuted by various people and organizations. The Catholic Croats under the Fascist Ustasha regime who recognized the Serbs only as "Croats of Eastern faith" and had the ideological visions of 1/3 of the Serbs murdered, 1/3 converted and the last third expulted. The outcome of these visions were the death of at least 700,000 (only the victims in the Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
), 250,000 converted and 250,000 expelled.
Given names
As with most Western cultures, a child is given a first name chosen by their parents but approved by the godparents of the child (the godparents usually approve the parent's choice). The given name comes first, the surname last, e.g. "Željko Popović", where "Željko" is a first name and "Popović" is a family name. Female names end with -a, e.g. Dragan -> Dragana.Popular names are mostly of Serbian (Slavic), Christian (Biblical), Greek and Latin origin.
- Serbian: DraganDrăganDrăgan can be:* Drăgan River , tributary of the Crişul Repede River in Romania* Drăgan River , tributary of the Florei River in RomaniaFamily name:* Iosif Constantin Drăgan, Romanian and Italian businessman, writer and historian...
, ZoranZoranZoran is a common Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means dawn, daybreak.-People with this given name:*Zoran Abadić - Serbian architect*Zoran Bečić - Bosnian Serb actor...
, GoranGoranGoran is a Slavic male first name often used in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia.- Variations :* female Goranka * female Gorana...
and SlobodanSlobodanSlobodan is a Serbian given name which means "free" used to other South Slavs as well. It was coined by Serbian liberal politician Vladimir Jovanović who, inspired by John Stuart Mill's essay On Liberty baptised his son Slobodan in 1869 and his daughter Pravda in 1871...
. - Greek: NikolaNikolaNikola is a male given name, derived from Greek Nikolaos , common in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Czechia and Slovenia...
, Đorđe, Aleksandar and Atena. - Biblical: Petar, PavlePavlePavle is a Serbian and Macedonian male given name corresponding to English "Paul"; the name is of biblical origin . The Croatian form is Pavao, and in other Slavic languages it is usually Pavel.People with this name include:...
, MihailoMihailoMihailo is a Slavic masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name Michael. Other slavic variants include Mihail, Mihajlo, and Mikhail. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname...
and Gavrilo. - Latin: MarkoMarko- Places :* Márkó, a village in Hungary* Marko's Monastery, a monastery in the Republic of Macedonia- Surname :* Béla Markó, a Romanian politician and writer of Hungarian ethnicity* Helmut Marko, an Austrian racecar driver* Ida Marko-Varga, a Swedish swimmer...
, Srđan, Antonije and RomanRoman (name)Roman is a male first name. It has distant origins dating back to the Roman Empire and the Latin language.It comes from the Latin word "romanus", which means "of Rome". In this initial sense, the title "Roman" means "a citizen of the Roman Empire", a man of Roman culture, Latin or Greek...
.
Surnames
Most Serbian surnames (like Bosnian, Croatian and Montenegrin) have the surname suffix -ić . This is often transliteratedTransliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
as -ic or -ici. In history, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to, for historical reasons, as Milutin Milankovitch.
The -ić suffix is a Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
, originally functioning to create patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
s. Thus the surname Petrić signifies little Petar, as does, for example, a common prefix Mac ("son of") in Scottish & Irish, and O' (grandson of) in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić but that some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname with many common names being spread out among tens and even hundreds of non-related extended families.
Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in which is the Slavic possessive case
Possessive case
The possessive case of a language is a grammatical case used to indicate a relationship of possession. It is not the same as the genitive case, which can express a wider range of relationships, though the two have similar meanings in many languages.See Possession for a survey of the different...
suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Those are more typical for Serbs from Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
. The two suffixes are often combined.
The most common surnames are Marković, Nikolić, Petrović, and Jovanović.
Cuisine
Traditional Serbian cuisine is varied and can be said to be a mix of central European, Mediterranean and Middle eastern cuisine. Ćevapčići consisting of grilled heavily seasoned mixed ground meat patties is considered to be the national dish. Other notable dishes include Koljivo used in religious rituals, Serbian saladSerbian salad
Serbian salad is a vegetable salad, usually served during summer with roast meat and other dishes. It is made from diced fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and grated feta, usually seasoned with olive oil, salt and commonly feferon - a local hot pepper similar to cayenne pepper....
, Sarma
Sarma (food)
Sarma is a dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat. It is found in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire from the Middle East to the Balkans and Central Europe.-Etymology and names:...
(stuffed cabbage), podvarak
Podvarak
Podvarak is a Serbian dish made of finely chopped sauerkraut, onions and meat, usually pork roast or chicken, which are combined and baked in an oven. Another description is of podvarak is "roast meat en sauerkraut." Podvarak can also be baked with a variety of other vegetables and additional...
(roast meat with Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut , directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid...
) and Moussaka
Moussaka
Moussaka is an eggplant based dish of the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The best known variation outside the region is the Greek one.-Names and etymology:...
. Česnica
Cesnica
A česnica is the ceremonial, round loaf of bread that is an indispensable part of Christmas dinner in Serbian tradition. The preparation of this bread may be accompanied by various rules and rituals. A coin is often put into the dough during the kneading; other small objects may also be inserted...
is a traditional bread for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
Day.
Slivovitz
Slivovitz
Slivovitz or Slivovitsais a distilled beverage made from Damson plums. It is frequently called plum brandy, and in the Balkans is part of the category of drinks called rakia...
, a distilled fermented plum juice is the national drink of Serbia with 70% of domestic plum production being used to make it. Domestic wines are also popular. Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee is a method of preparing coffee where finely powdered roast coffee beans are boiled in a pot , with sugar according to taste, before being served into a cup where the dregs settle...
is widely drunk as well.
Language
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
, a member of the South Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
group of languages, specifically in the Southwestern Slavic group with the Southeastern Slavic languages including Macedonian and Bulgarian. It is mutually intelligible with the standard Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
and Bosnian language
Bosnian language
Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
(see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian
Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian
Standard Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian are different national literary and official registers of the Serbo-Croatian language.- History :In socialist Yugoslavia, the official policy insisted on one language with two standard varieties – Eastern and Western Standard Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian are...
) and some linguists still consider it part of the pre-war Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
.
The Serbian language comprises several dialects, the standard language is based on the Stokavian dialect.
It is an official language in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. In Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, the Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, it is a regionally recognized minority language.
There are several variants of the Serbian language. The older forms of Serbian are Old Serbian and Russo-Serbian, a version of the Church Slavonic language.
Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia
Digraphia
In sociolinguistics, digraphia refers to the use of more than one writing system for the same language. Some scholars differentiate between synchronic digraphia with the coexistence of two or more writing systems for the same language and diachronic digraphia with the replacement of one writing...
, using both Cyrillic and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script for the Serbian language, developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two standard modern alphabets used to write the Serbian language, the other being Latin...
was devised in 1814 by Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles, the Cyrillic itself has its origins in Cyril and Methodius transformation from the Greek script.
Loanwords in the Serbian language are mostly from Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, words of Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
origin is present mostly in the north and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words mostly in the liturgy.
Two Serbian words that are used in many of the world's languages are vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
and paprika
Paprika
Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...
. Slivovitz
Slivovitz
Slivovitz or Slivovitsais a distilled beverage made from Damson plums. It is frequently called plum brandy, and in the Balkans is part of the category of drinks called rakia...
and ćevapčići
Cevapcici
Ćevapi or ćevapčići is a grilled dish of minced meat, a type of kebab, found traditionally in the countries of southeastern Europe. They are considered a national dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia...
are Serbian words which have spread together with the Serbian food/drink
Serbian cuisine
Serbian cuisine is a heterogeneous cuisine, sharing characteristics of the Balkans , the Mediterranean , Turkish, and Central European cuisines....
they refer to. Paprika
Paprika
Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...
and Slivovitz
Slivovitz
Slivovitz or Slivovitsais a distilled beverage made from Damson plums. It is frequently called plum brandy, and in the Balkans is part of the category of drinks called rakia...
are borrowed via German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
; paprika itself entered German via Hungarian. Vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
entered most West European languages through German-language texts in the early 18th century and has since spread widely in the world.
Literature
Miroslav's GospelMiroslav's Gospel
Miroslav Gospels is a 362-page illuminated manuscript Gospel Book on parchment with very rich decorations. It is one of the oldest surviving documents written in Old Church Slavonic, along with the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja...
is one of the earliest works of Serbian literature dating from between 1180 and 1191 and one of the most important works of the medieval period. This work was entered into UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's Memory of the World program in 2005. Serbian epic poetry
Serbian epic poetry
Serb epic poetry is a form of epic poetry written by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries...
was a central part of medieval Serbian literature based on historic events such as the Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
.
Traditions and customs
Serbs have many traditions. The SlavaSlava
The Slava , also called Krsna Slava and Krsno ime , is the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the ritual celebration and veneration of a family's own patron saint. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the patron saint's feast day...
is an exclusive custom of the Serbs, each family has one patron saint that they venerate on their feast day. The Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
uses the traditional Julian Calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, as per which Christmas Day (December 25) falls currently on January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
, thus the Serbs celebrate Christmas on January 7, shared with the Orthodox churches of Jerusalem
Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem , also known as the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity. Headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, it is regarded by Orthodox Christians as the mother church of all of...
, Russia
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, Georgia
Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church
The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church is an autocephalous part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since the 4th century AD, Georgian Orthodoxy has been the state religion of Georgia, and it remains the country's largest religious institution....
, Ukraine
History of Christianity in Ukraine
The History of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the apostolic church. It has remained the dominant religion in the country since its acceptance in 988 by Vladimir the Great , who instated it as the state religion of Kievan Rus', a medieval East Slavic state.Although...
and the Greek Old Calendarists
Greek Old Calendarists
Greek Old Calendarists are groups that separated from the Orthodox Church of Greece or from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, precipitated by disagreement over the abandonment of the traditional Julian Calendar.- History :Up until the early 20th century, the Eastern Orthodox Church used the...
.
- SlavaSlavaThe Slava , also called Krsna Slava and Krsno ime , is the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the ritual celebration and veneration of a family's own patron saint. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the patron saint's feast day...
, Serbian Orthodox Patron saint veneration - Kumstvo, God-parenthood in the Serbian Orthodox Church
- Pobratimstvo, blood-brotherhood
- KoloKolo (dance)Kolo , is a collective folk dance, danced primarily by people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It is performed amongst groups of people holding each other's having their hands around each other's waists...
, Serbian folk dance in circle. - Serbian Christmas traditionsSerbian Christmas traditionsThe Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar. From 1900 until 2100, the Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian and therefore Serbian Christmas Day falls on 7 January of the Gregorian calendar...
- Badnjak (Serbian), Christmas tradition
- Serbian epic poetrySerbian epic poetrySerb epic poetry is a form of epic poetry written by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries...
, Epic poetry
The Serbs are a highly family-oriented society. A peek into a Serbian dictionary and the richness of their terminology related to kinship
Serbian kinship
The Serbo-Croatian standard languages have one of the more elaborate kinship systems among European languages. Terminology may differ from place to place. Most words are common to other Slavic languages, though some derive from Turkish...
speaks volumes.
Of all Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
and Orthodox Christians
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, only Serbs have the custom of slava
Slava
The Slava , also called Krsna Slava and Krsno ime , is the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the ritual celebration and veneration of a family's own patron saint. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the patron saint's feast day...
. Slava is celebration of a saint; unlike most customs that are common for the whole people, each family separately celebrates its own saint (of course, there is a lot of overlap) who is considered its protector. A slava is inherited, mostly, though not exclusively from father to son (if a family has no son and a daughter stays in parental house and her husband moves in, hers, not his, slava is celebrated). Each household has only one saint it celebrates, which means that the occasion brings all of the family together. However, since many saints (e.g. St. Nicholas, St. John the Baptist, St. George, St. Archangels of Gabriel and Michael, and the Apostles St. Peter and Paul) have two feast days, both are marked.
The traditional dance is a circle dance
Circle dance
"Circle dance" is the most common name for a style of traditional dance usually done in a circle without partners to musical accompaniment.-Description:...
called kolo
Kolo (dance)
Kolo , is a collective folk dance, danced primarily by people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It is performed amongst groups of people holding each other's having their hands around each other's waists...
, which is common among Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins and Macedonians. It is a collective dance, where a group of people (usually several dozen, at the very least three) hold each other by the hands or around the waist dancing, forming a circle
Circle
A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane that are a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any of the points and the centre is called the radius....
(hence the name), semicircle or spiral
Spiral
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a central point, getting progressively farther away as it revolves around the point.-Spiral or helix:...
. It is called Oro in Montenegro. Similar circle dances also exist in other cultures of the region.
Serbian Christmas traditions
The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar. From 1900 until 2100, the Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian and therefore Serbian Christmas Day falls on 7 January of the Gregorian calendar...
. The Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
uses the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
, so Christmas currently falls on January 7 of the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
. Early in the morning of Christmas Eve, the head of the family would go to a forest in order to cut badnjak, a young oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, the oak tree would then be brought into the church to be blessed by the priest. Then the oak tree would be stripped of its branches with combined with wheat and other grain products would be burned in the fireplace. The burning of the badnjak is a ritual which is most certainly of pagan origin and it is considered a sacrifice to God (or the old pagan gods) so that the coming year may bring plenty of food, happiness, love, luck and riches. Nowadays, with most Serbs living in towns, most simply go to their church service to be given a small parcel of oak, wheat and other branches tied together to be taken home and set afire. The house floor and church is covered with hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, reminding worshippers of the stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
in which Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was born.
Christmas Day itself is celebrated with a feast, necessarily featuring roasted piglet
Roasted piglet
Roasted piglet or "pečenje" in Serbian is a Serbian national meal. Despite the common translation of "roasted piglet", other varieties of pečenje include sheep , beef, veal, goat and chicken, and unlike roasts in many other cultures, Serbian pečenje is often eaten cold.After the carcass is washed,...
as the main meal. The most important Christmas meal is česnica
Cesnica
A česnica is the ceremonial, round loaf of bread that is an indispensable part of Christmas dinner in Serbian tradition. The preparation of this bread may be accompanied by various rules and rituals. A coin is often put into the dough during the kneading; other small objects may also be inserted...
, a special kind of bread. The bread contains a coin; during the lunch, the family breaks up the bread and the one who finds the coin is said to be assured of an especially happy year.
Christmas is not associated with presents like in the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, although it is the day of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, the protector saint of children, to whom presents are given. However, most Serbian families give presents on New Year's Day. Santa Claus (Deda Mraz (literally meaning Grandpa Frost)) and the Christmas tree (but rather associated with New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
) are also used in Serbia as a result of globalisation. Serbs also celebrate the Old New Year
Old New Year
The Old New Year Нова година) or the Orthodox New Year is an informal traditional Slavic Orthodox holiday, celebrated as the start of the New Year by the Julian calendar...
(currently on January 14 of the Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
).
On Orthodox Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, Serbs have the tradition of Slavic Egg decorating
Egg decorating in Slavic culture
The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times, and was transformed by the process of religious syncretism into the Christian Easter egg...
.
Another related feature, often lamented by Serbs themselves, is disunity and discord; as Slobodan Naumović puts it, "Disunity and discord have acquired in the Serbian popular imaginary a notorious, quasi-demiurgic status. They are often perceived as being the chief malefactors in Serbian history, causing political or military defeats, and threatening to tear Serbian society completely apart." That disunity is often quoted as the source of Serbian historic tragedies, from the Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
in 1389 to Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
in 1990s. Even the contemporary notion of "two Serbia's"—one supposedly national, liberal and Eurocentric, and the other conservative, nationalist and Euroskeptic—seems to be the extension of the said discord. Popular proverbs "two Serbs, three political parties" and "God save us from Serbs that may unite!", and even the unofficial Serbian motto "Only Unity Saves the Serbs
Only Unity Saves the Serbs
Only Unity Saves the Serbs is an unofficial motto used in Serbia and a popular slogan among Serbs, often used as a rallying call against foreign domination and during times of national crisis....
" (Samo sloga Srbina spasava) illustrate the national frustration with the inability to unite over important issues.
As with many other peoples, there are popular stereotypes on the local level: in popular jokes and stories, inhabitants of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
(Lale) are perceived as phlegmatic, undisturbed and slow; Montenegrins are lazy and pushy; southern Serbians are miser
Miser
A miser, cheapskate, snipe-snout, penny pincher, piker, scrooge, skinflint or tightwad is a person who is reluctant to spend money, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities...
s; Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
ns are raw and stupid; people from Central Serbia are often portrayed as capricious and malicious, etc.
Serb folklore
- Slavic mythologySlavic mythologySlavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....
, pagan folklore - Serbian epic poetrySerbian epic poetrySerb epic poetry is a form of epic poetry written by Serbs originating in today's Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. The main cycles were composed by unknown Serb authors between the 14th and 19th centuries...
In Krajište and Vlasina there are epic stories of the extermination of Roman males in a battle, and of the settling of Russians (Antes)
Music
Serbian music dates from the medieval period with strong church and folk traditions. Church music in Serbia of the time was based on the Osmoglasnik a cycle of religious songs based on the resurrection and lasting for eight weeks. During the Nemanjic dynasty and under other rulers such as Stefan Dušan, musicians enjoyed royal patronage. There was a strong folk tradition in Serbia dating from this time.During Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule, Serbs were forbidden to own property, to learn to read and write and denied the use of musical instruments. Church music had to be performed in private. Gusle
Gusle
The Gusle is a single-stringed musical instrument traditionally used in the Dinarides region of the Balkans ....
, a one-stringed instrument, was invented by Serbian peasants during this time in an effort to find a loophole through the stringent Ottoman laws. Filip Višnjić
Filip Višnjic
Filip Višnjić was a popular Serbian epic poet and guslar , born in northern Bosnia. He is often described as the "Serbian Homer" both because he was blind and for his poetic gift...
was a particularly notable guslar (gusle player). In the 18th century, Russian and Greek chant schools were established and the Serbian Orthodox Church accepted Church Slavonic into their liturgy.
Folk music enjoyed a resurgence in the nineteenth century. Jozip Slezenger founded the Prince's Band playing music based on traditional tunes. Stevan Mokranjac, a composer and musicologist collected folk songs as well as performing his own work. Kornelije Stankovic
Kornelije Stankovic
Kornelije Stanković was a Serbian composer, said to have marked an era not only in Serbian, but also in South Slavic musical art.-External links:***...
wrote the first Serbian language works for choirs.
Traditional Serbian folk music remains popular today especially in rural areas. Western rock and pop music has become increasingly popular especially in cities with rock acts such as Riblja Čorba
Riblja Corba
Riblja Čorba is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Their presence on the scene has lasted from 1978 to today. They reached their peak of popularity in the 1980s, but it has declined in the 1990s, partly due to controversial political attitudes of the band's leader Bora Đorđević...
and Đorđe Balašević incorporating political statements in their music. Turbo-folk
Turbo-folk
Turbo-folk is a popular musical sub-genre that originated in Serbia, the Balkans. Having mainstream popularity in Serbia, although closely associated with Serbian performers, its sound is as popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro...
combined Western rock and pop styles with traditional folk music vocals. Serbian immigrants have taken their musical traditions to nations such as the US and Canada.
Serbia recently won the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
Serbian theatre and cinema
Serbia has a well-established theatrical tradition with many theaters. The Serbian National TheatreSerbian National Theatre
The Serbian National Theatre , located in Novi Sad, is one of the major theatres of Serbia...
was established in 1861 with its building dating from 1868. The company started performing opera from the end of the 19th century and the permanent opera was established in 1947. It established a ballet company.
Bitef
Bitef
BITEF, Belgrade International Theatre Festival, is one of the theatre festival that takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, each year.Founded in 1967, BITEF has continually followed and supported the latest theater trends...
, Belgrade International Theatre Festival, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in the world. New Theatre Tendencies is the constant subtitle of the Festival. Founded in 1967, Bitef has continually followed and supported the latest theater trends. It has become one of five most important and biggest European festivals. It has become one of the most significant culture institutions of Serbia.
The cinema was established reasonably early in Serbia with 12 films being produced before the start of World War II. The most notable of the prewar films was Mihail Popovic's The Battle of Kosovo in 1939.
Cinema prospered after World War II. The most notable postwar director was Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev is a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
who was internationally recognised for Love Affair: Or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator in 1969 focussing on Yugoslav politics. Makavejev's Montenegro was made in Sweden in 1981. Zoran Radmilović
Zoran Radmilovic
Zoran Radmilović was a Serbian actor, beloved for some of the most memorable roles in the history of former Yugoslav cinema....
was one of the most notable actors of the postwar period.
Serbian cinema continued to make progress in the 1990s and today despite the turmoil of the 1990s. Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
won a Golden Palm for Best Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
for Underground in 1995. In 1998, Kusturica won a Silver Lion for directing Black Cat, White Cat
Black Cat, White Cat
Black Cat, White Cat is a 1998 Yugoslav romantic comedy film directed by Emir Kusturica. It won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the Venice Film Festival....
.
As at 2001, there were 167 cinemas in Serbia (excluding Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Metohija
Metohija
Metohija , is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo.It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo, namely the historical :* District of Peć * District of Đakovica * District of Prizren...
) and over 4 million Serbs went to the cinema in that year. In 2005, San zimske noći
San zimske noci
Midwinter Night's Dream is a 2004 drama film directed by Goran Paskaljevic. It is an allegory of the Balkan wars, starring an autistic child as the main character. When first released in Serbia, it caused some public outrage because of the sharp criticism of Serbia's role in the war....
(A Midwinter Night's Dream ) directed by Goran Paskaljević
Goran Paskaljevic
Goran Paskaljević is a Serbian film director. He was raised by his grandparents in Niš, following the divorce of his parents, and 14 years later returned to Belgrade where he worked in his stepfather's cinema....
caused controversy over its criticism of Serbia's role in the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
in the 1990s.
Serbian handcrafts
Serbia has a long tradition of handicrafts. Đakovica in KosovoKosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
was known for its black pottery. Pirot
Pirot
Pirot is a town and municipality located in south-eastern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 38,432, while the population of the municipality is 57,911...
in eastern Serbia became known for its ceramics under the Ottomans with the potters following Byzantine designs. It also became a centre for the production of Kilim
Kilim
Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to Pakistan. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Recently-made kilims are popular floor-coverings in Western households.-Etymology:...
s or rugs.
The Slavs introduced jewellery making to Serbia in the sixth century AD. Metalworking started to develop on a significant scale following the development of a Serbian state. Workshops were set up in towns, large estates and in monasteries. The Studenica Monastery was known for the quality of its goldsmithing. Coins were minted not only by the kings but some of the wealthier nobility. The nobility also was influenced by the wealth of the Byzantine court. Metalworking like many other arts and crafts went into decline following the Ottoman conquest. However, there was a partial revival in later centuries with a strong Baroque influence notably the 17th century silverwear at "Our Lady on the Rocks" on Boka Kotorska.
Serbian media
As of 2001, there were 27 daily newspapers and 580 other newspapers published in Serbia. Some of these newspapers have Internet editions. PolitikaPolitika
Politika is a Serbian newspaper. It is considered the newspaper of record and is the oldest daily in the Balkans, having been founded on January 25, 1904 by Vladislav Ribnikar. It is currently being published by Politika Newspapers and Magazines , a joint venture between Politika AD and...
founded in 1904 is the oldest daily newspaper in the Balkans. There were also 491 periodical magazines published in Serbia with the Nedeljne informativne novine
NIN (magazine)
NIN is a weekly newsmagazine published in Belgrade, Serbia. Its name is an acronym for Nedeljne informativne novine which roughly translates into Weekly Informational Newspaper....
(NIN) and Vreme
Vreme
Vreme is a weekly newsmagazine based in Belgrade, Serbia.After being prepared for seven months throughout 1990 by liberal Serbian intellectuals dissatisfied with the regime's control of the media, its first issue came out on October 29, 1990. Most of its original staff were journalists from...
amongst the most notable.
Television broadcasting started in 1958 with every country in the former Yugoslavia having its own station. In Serbia, the state television station was known as RTB and became known as RTS after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Under the Communists and Milošević regime, state broadcasting was controlled by the ruling party. The RTS station was bombed during the NATO action against the Milošević regime due to its propaganda role under that regime.
There was some private broadcasting with the B92
B92
B92 is a radio and television broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia. The network's key demographic is chiefly urban and young audience. Its programs, including the news cover topics with fairly liberal political painted attitudes...
radio and television station starting in 1989 although it was shut down in 1999 during the hostilities. After the fall of Milošević, RTS became known as Nova RTS as an assertion of independence while B92 commenced broadcasting. During 2001, there were 70 television centres in Serbia of which 24 were privately owned. In 2003, there was a return to censorship as the Government of Zoran Zivkovic
Zoran Živkovic
Zoran Živković may refer to:*Zoran Živković , Serbian handball player and coach widely known under his nickname Tuta*Zoran Živković , Serbian writer...
temporarily imposed a state of emergency following the assassination of Zoran Djindjic and the European Federation of Journalists
European Federation of Journalists
The European Federation of Journalists is a branch of the International Federation of Journalists. It is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing about 260,000 journalists in over thirty countries...
continues to hold concerns over media freedom in the country.
Serbian cultural institutions
At the beginning of the 21st century, there were 32 art galleries and 142 museums in Serbia. Belgrade has many of the most significant with the National Museum of SerbiaNational Museum of Serbia
The National Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Serbia. It is located in Republic Square, Belgrade, Serbia. The museum was established on May 10, 1844. Since it was founded, its collections have to over 400,000 objects including many foreign masterpieces...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, the Gallery of Frescoes featuring Orthodox Church art, the Ethnographic Museum
Ethnographic Museum (Belgrade)
The Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, Serbia is one of the oldest museums in the Balkans. It recently celebrated one hundred years since its establishment. It is a traditional culture museum and features many rugs and sticks of note.- External links :* *...
and the Princess Ljubica's Residence. Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
contains the Vojvodina Museum as well as the Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin
Petrovaradin , is part of the agglomeration of Novi Sad in Serbia...
fortress.
Matica Srpska
Matica srpska
The Matica srpska is the oldest cultural-scientific institution of Serbia. Matica srpska was founded in 1826 in Budapest and moved to Novi Sad in 1864....
is the oldest and most notable cultural and scientific organisation in today's Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Its name is translated in Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
as the Serbian matrix or parent body of the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
. It was founded in 1826 in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and moved to Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
in 1864. Amongst other achievements, it compiled a six-volume study of the Serbian language between 1967 and 1976. Its journal Letopis Matice Srpske is one of the oldest periodical examining scientific and cultural issues anywhere in the world. Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
province of Austro-Hungary became attractive for Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
ever since the fall of Serbia
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
in 15th century, and was the site of the Great Serbian Migrations
Great Serbian Migrations
The Great Serb Migrations , also known as the Great Exodus, refers mainly to two large migrations of Serbs from the Ottoman Empire to the Habsburg Monarchy....
, when Serbs colonized this area escaping Turkish
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
vengeance. Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
became the spiritual, political and cultural centre of the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
in the Habsburg Empire, with Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
residing in the town. To this day, the Patriarch of Serbia
Patriarch of Serbia
This is a list of the Archbishops and Patriarchs of Peć and the Serbs from the creation of the church as an archdiocese in 1219 to today's Patriarchate. The list includes all the Archbishops and Patriarchs that led the Serbian Orthodox community under Patriarchate of Peć...
retains the title of Metropolitan of (Sremski) Karlovci. The town featured the earliest Serb and Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
grammar school (Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
: gimnazija/гимназија, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Lycée) founded on August 3, 1791. In 1794 an Orthodox seminary was also founded in the town, ranking second oldest in the World (After the Spiritual Academy in Kiev). Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
is home to Serbia's oldest professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
theatre, founded in 1861 as Srpsko Narodno Pozoriste, followed by Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in 1868; however two other cities claim this title: City of Kragujevac Knjazesko Srbski Teatar
Knjaževsko-srpski teatar
Knjaževsko-srpski teatar is the oldest theatre in Central Serbia.It is based in City of Kragujevac, the fourth largest city of Serbia.The theatre was founded in 1835 by Miloš Obrenović, Prince of Serbia....
since 1835 and Subotica
Subotica
Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
since 1851 (*there were theatres throughout Serbia long before that time but cannot be classified as "professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
".
There is a strong network of libraries with three national libraries, 689 public libraries, 143 higher education libraries and 11 non-specialised libraries as at 1998. The National Library of Serbia
National Library of Serbia
The National Library of Serbia is the national library of Serbia, located in the city of Belgrade, .-History:...
is the most significant of these. Project Rastko
Project Rastko
Project Rastko — Internet Library of Serb Culture is a non-profit and non-governmental publishing, cultural and educational project dedicated to Serb and Serb-related arts and humanities...
founded in 1997 is an Internet Library of Serb culture.
Roots to the Serbian education system date back to 11th and 12th centuries when first Catholiccolleges were founded in Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
(Titel, Bac). Medieval Serbian education however was mostly conducted through the Serbian Orthodox Monasteries
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
(UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
protected Sopoćani
Sopocani
The Sopoćani monastery , an endowment of King Stefan Uroš I of Serbia, was built in the second half of the 13th century, near the source of the Raška River in the region of Ras, the centre of the Serbian medieval state. It is World Heritage Site, added in 1979 with Stari Ras...
, Studenica, Patriarchate of Peć
Patriarchate of Pec
The Patriarchate of Peć is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Peć. The complex of churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of the Serbian archbishops and patriarchs....
) starting from the rise of Raška
Raška (state)
Principality of Serbia or Serbian Principality was an early medieval state of the Serbs ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty, that existed from ca 768 to 969 in Southeastern Europe. It was established through an unification of several provincial chiefs under the supreme rule of a certain Višeslav,...
in 12th century, when Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
overwhelmingly embrassed Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
rather than Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
. First European style higher education facilities however were founded in CatholicVojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Teacher's College in Subotica
Subotica
Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
in 1689, although several facilities have functioned even before (f.e. Jesuit School in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, since 1609). Following short-lived Serbian independence between 1804 and 1813, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
officially became an educational centre of the country (excluding Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
). The University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
is the biggest and most prestigious institution of higher education in Serbia, founded as the Belgrade Higher School in 1808. The Gymnasium Jovan Jovanović Zmaj was founded in 1810 and many important Serb cultural figures studied there.
Within the Government of Serbia
Government of Serbia
Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...
, the Serbian Ministry for Culture is responsible for administering its cultural facilities.
National symbols
- The Serbian flagFlag of SerbiaThe flag of Serbia is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle and white on the bottom. The same tricolour, in some variations, was the flag of Serbia throughout its history, and is the ethnic flag of the Serbian people.The state flag bears the...
is a red-blue-white horizontal tricolourTricolourA tricolour is a flag or banner more-or-less equally divided into three bands of differing colours...
.
- The Serbian eagleSerbian eagleThe double-headed eagle is a common symbol in Serbian heraldry and vexillology; the heads represent the dual sovereignty of the emperor and/or dominance of the Byzantine Emperors over both East and West....
, a white two-headed eagle, which represents dual power and sovereignty (monarch and church), was the coat of armsCoat of armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the House of NemanjićHouse of NemanjicThe Nemanjić was the most important dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages, and one of the most important in Southeastern Europe. The royal house produced eleven Serbian monarchs between 1166 and 1371. It's progenitor was Stephen Nemanja, who descended from a cadet line of the Vukanović dynasty...
.
- The Serbian crossSerbian crossThe Serbian Cross is a national symbol of Serbia, part of the Coat of Arms of Serbia, and the flag of Serbia. It is composed of a cross symbol with four C-shapes on each of its corners, in use as a national emblem since the 14th century....
is based on the Byzantine cross, but where the Byzantine Cross held 4 Greek letter 'V' (or 'B') meaning King of Kings, ruling over KingsCoat of arms of SerbiaThe coat of arms of Serbia is based the family arms of the former Obrenović dynasty and features the white bicephalic eagle of the Nemanjić dynasty. An ermine cape of the style once worn by kings is featured in the background. The double-headed eagle has been used since Byzantine era, the Serbian...
, the Serbian cross turned the Byzantine "B" into 4 Cyrillic letters of 'S' (C)Only Unity Saves the SerbsOnly Unity Saves the Serbs is an unofficial motto used in Serbia and a popular slogan among Serbs, often used as a rallying call against foreign domination and during times of national crisis....
with little stylistic modification, for a whole new message. If displayed on a field, traditionally it is on red field, but could be used with no field at all.
Both the eagle and the cross, besides being the basis for various Serbian coats of arms
Coat of arms of Serbia
The coat of arms of Serbia is based the family arms of the former Obrenović dynasty and features the white bicephalic eagle of the Nemanjić dynasty. An ermine cape of the style once worn by kings is featured in the background. The double-headed eagle has been used since Byzantine era, the Serbian...
through history, are bases for the symbols of various Serbian organizations, political parties, institutions and companies.
Serbian folk attire varies, mostly because of the very diverse geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
of the territory inhabited by the Serbs. Some parts of it are, however, common:
- A traditional shoe that is called the opanakOpanakOpanak are traditional peasant shoes worn in Southeastern Europe . The attributes of the Opanci are: a construction of leather, lack of laces, durable, and various ending on toes. In Serbia, the design of the horn-like ending on toes indicates the region of origin...
. It is recognizable by its distinctive tips that spiral backward. Each region of Serbia has a different kind of tips. - A traditional hat that is called the šajkačaŠajkacaThe Šajkača is the Serbian national hat or cap.-History:The Šajkača originated in the 18th century. It was originally worn by the Serbian river fleet as a military headgear in the service of the Habsburg Empire around the Danube and Sava Rivers...
. It is easily recognizable by its top part that looks like the letter V or like the bottom of a boat (viewed from above), after which it got its name. It gained wide popularity in the early 20th century as it was the hat of the Serbian army in the First World WarWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It is still worn everyday by some villagers today, and it was a common item of headgear among Bosnian SerbRepublika SrpskaRepublika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
military commanders during the Bosnian WarBosnian WarThe Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
in the 1990s. However, "šajkača" is common mostly for the Serbian population living in the region of Central SerbiaCentral SerbiaCentral Serbia , also referred to as Serbia proper , was the region of Serbia from 1945 to 2009. It included central parts of Serbia outside of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. The region of Central Serbia was not an administrative division of Serbia as such; it was under the...
(ŠumadijaŠumadijaŠumadija is a geographical region in Serbia. The area is heavily covered with forests, hence the name...
), while Serbs living in VojvodinaVojvodinaVojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, MontenegroMontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, and CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
had different types of traditional hats, which are not similar to "šajkača". Different types of traditional hats could be also found in eastern and southern parts of Central Serbia.
See also
- Cultural Heritage of Serbia
- History and culture of Serbs in Vojvodina
- Tourism in SerbiaTourism in SerbiaSerbia stretches across two geographic and cultural regions of Europe: Central Europe and Southeast Europe. This boundary splits Serbia roughly in a ratio of 1:2 alongside the Danube and Sava rivers. The northern parts of the country are Central-European lowlands while the southern and central...
Online references
- Serbia Ministry of Culture
- Radio Television Serbia
- European Federation of Journalists Serbia page
- Serbian info culture page
- Serbian info Art History page
- Encarta Yugoslavia article
- Encarta Yugoslav literature page
- Serbian medieval literature history
- Columbia University Yugoslav Literature article
- Treasures National Library Serbia
Other references
- "Serbia and Montenegro", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2005
- "Serbia", Grove Art Online, 2005
- "Serbia", Grove Music Online, 2005
- The Statesman's Yearbook 2005: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, ISBN 1-4039-1481-8
Further reading
- Radmilla Marinkovic, The History of Serbian Culture, Porthill Publishers, 1995
- Sveta Lukić, Contemporary Yugoslav Literature: A Sociopolitical Approach, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972, ISBN 0-252-00213-X