istorija / history
Dan kada je Hrist posvećen Bogu Srpska pravoslavna crkva i vernici 15. februara slave Sretenje Gospodnje, uspo- menu na dan kada je Bo- gorodica novorođenog Hri- sta prvi put uvela u hram da ga posveti Bogu. Ovo predstavlja prvi susret Bo- ga i čoveka pod svodovima jerusalimskog hrama i sre- tenje novorođenog mesi- je, koga je u naručje primio pravedni starac poznat kao sveti Simeon Bogoprimac. Slavi se uvek četrdesetog dana posle Božića.
The day Christ was dedicated to God It is on 15 th February that the Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which memorialises the day when the Holy Mother of God first brought the new-born Christ to the temple to dedicate him to God. This represents the first meeting of God and man under the vaults of the Jerusalem temple and the presenting of the infant Messiah, when he was received in the arms of a just and devout elder, known as Saint Simeon the God-receiver. This holiday is always commemorated on the 40 th day after Christmas Day.
Sretenje: from uprising to constitution Birth of the modern Serbian state Serbia has been commemorating Statehood Day on 15 th February since 2002, in remembrance of two important historical dates: the First Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule (1804) and the date in 1835 when the first modern, and then extremely liberal, Constitution of the Principality of Serbia was adopted I t is today difficult to imagine what the pre- vailing political and social climate of Serbia was like two centuries ago, when two events that proved crucial to the further course of our history occurred. The First Serbian Up- rising was mounted in 1804, when the people re- belled against Ottoman rule, and the first Consti- tution was adopted in 1835, marking the beginning of the creation of the modern Serbian state. Both events took place on the important religious holi- day of Sretenje [Candlemas], and that date of 15 th February is today celebrated as Serbian Statehood Day. No other date has such unifying characteris- tics. It combines within it a combative, heroic tra- dition with a tradition of applying the highest val- ues of civilisation, like democracy, human rights and freedoms. Let’s take the story back to the very start: Tur- key, as one of the then strongest military powers, had aspirations to conquer the whole of Europe. The Belgrade Pashaluk was occupied by the Dahijas [renegade Janissary officers], whose oppression ex- ceeded official Turkish tyranny. The people grew in- creasingly rageful until the dawning of that fateful day, 15 th February, 1804, when Đorđe Petrović, aka Karađorđe, was selected, at an assembly in Orašac, to lead the uprising. The insurrection was put down in 1813, when Belgrade fell back into Turkish hands, but Karađorđe had managed to distribute the land among the peasants, and later, with Miloš’s confir- mation [Prince Miloš Obrenović], Serbia became a country of free people, at a time when slavery still existed in America and Russia still had serfs. Following the collapse of the uprising, Karađorđe
Šta kaže medved?
What does the bear say? It is believed among the people that this date also marks the meeting of winter and spring, and it is on that day that they carefully observe the behaviour of bears. If dawn brings a sunny morning, the bear will be scared by its shadow and will return to hibernation for another six weeks. A similar tradition is practised in some European and American states, only the creatures “under observation” are badgers and groundhogs.
Narod veruje da se tog dana sreću zima i prole- će i budno motri ponaša- nje medveda. Ako osvane sunčano jutro, medved će se, uplašen od svoje sen- ke, vratiti u zimski san na- rednih šest nedelja. Slično viđenje imaju i stanovnici nekih država Evrope i Ame- rike, samo su pod prismo- trom jazavci i mrmoti.
68 | Srbija » Serbia
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