According to the new calendar, 28th June. According to the old one, 15th June. If the third calendar appears, Serbia will always and forever celebrate Vidovdan. It is a national holiday, but it is not a non-working day. It is a religious holiday and that is why the Serbian Orthodox Church will hold a memorial service in temples and churches.
Brothers and sisters, this is the day on which Serbia's identity is based.
Vidovdan is a holiday that symbolizes freedom, resistance to the enemy, patriotism, heroism and everything that is deeply woven into and inextricably linked to the only home we all have. For Serbia!
Prince Lazar and the Battle of Kosovo, Gazimestan, the memory of those who died in all the battles, wars and occupations and Saint Vid are the leading reasons for celebrating the holiday as befits - with dignity, in silence, peacefully. Millions of people gave their lives for the Orthodox faith and this day without party is the minimum that must be respected.
What happened on Vidovdan?
- The Battle of Kosovo (1389)
- Debate on the Principality of Serbia started at the Berlin Congress (1878)
- Signed Secret Convention between Serbia and Austria-Hungary (1881)
- The Second Balkan War began (1913)
- Gavrilo Princip assassinated Franz Ferdinand (1914)
- The Treaty of Versailles signed (1919)
- King Aleksandar the First Karadjordjevic passed the Vidovdan Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1921)
- The Communist Party of Yugoslavia broke away from the Soviet sphere of influence in 1948
- At the celebration of 600 years of the Battle of Kosovo, the then president of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, delivered an epic speech at Gazimestan (1989)
- Slobodan Milosevic was handed over to the Hague Tribunal (2001)
- Montenegro seceded from Serbia (2006).
Beliefs and customs for Vidovdan
In the morning during washing, one should say: "Oh, Vidov, Vidovda, what I saw with my eyes, I created with my hands". Folk belief says that whatever is seen on this day, there will be success. The holiday is celebrated during the Petrovdan fast (Fast before the Feast Day of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul), so fasting food is mandatory. Many customs differ depending on the part of the country. Women from Vojvodina take out every piece of weaving to show that they are hard-working and the household is wealthy.
The Macva region marks Zadusnice (The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed) on this day. In Sumadija, it is customary to remove things from the house in order to restore good energy. Old traditions claim that rivers turn red at midnight in memory of all Serbian victims. On the eve of Vidovdan, girls pick pimpernel that they put under their pillows because it is believed that they will dream of their future husband. You should eat ripe fruit. Krusevac chose this very day as the day of the city. An interesting fact is that Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, declared Vidovdan a Chicago holiday in 2021.
