Culture of Serbia
Serbian culture is a term that encompasses the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Serbs and Serbia.
Meanwhile, in the northern regions, the Habsburg monarchy expanded into modern-day Serbian territory beginning at the end of the 17th century, culturally binding this part of the nation to Central Europe, rather than the Balkans.
Conversion of the South Slavs from Slavic 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.
They were fully Christianised by Eastern Orthodox Missionaries (Saints) Cyril and Methodius in 869 during the reign of Basil I, who sent them following Knez Mutimir's acknowledgement of the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire.
[11][12] Ćevapi consisting of grilled heavily seasoned mixed ground meat patties is considered the national dish.
Other notable dishes include koljivo used in religious rituals, Serbian salad, sarma (stuffed wineleaf), pilav (pilaf,a Middle eastern meal similar to rizzoto), moussaka and bean soup (prebranac).
These include rakija (fruit brandy), slatko, jam, jelly, and pickled foods (notably sauerkraut, ajvar and sausage).
Notable Baroque authors include Andrija Zmajević, Gavril Stefanović Venclović, Jovan Rajić and Zaharije Orfelin.
Dositej Obradović is the most prominent literary figure of the Age of Enlightenment, while the most notable Classicist writer is Jovan Sterija Popović, although his works also contain elements of Romanticism.
Modern Serbian literature began with Vuk Karadžić's collections of folk songs in the 19th century, and the writings of Njegoš and Branko Radičević.
The most well-known authors are Ivo Andrić, Miloš Crnjanski, Meša Selimović, Borislav Pekić, Danilo Kiš, Milorad Pavić, David Albahari, Miodrag Bulatović, Dobrica Ćosić, Zoran Živković among others.
[16] Unlike most customs that are common for everyone, each family celebrates its own saint (of course, there is a lot of overlap) who is considered its protector separately.
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 Serbs are a highly family-oriented society, which glancing at a Serbian dictionary and the richness of their terminology related to kinship makes clear.
Nowadays, with most Serbs living in towns, they 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.
Santa Claus (Deda Mraz (literally meaning Grandpa Frost)) and the Christmas tree (generally associated with New Year's Day) are also used in Serbia because of globalisation.
[18] Even the contemporary notion of "two Serbia's"—one supposedly liberal, pro-European, Eurocentric and pro-western—and the other conservative, nationalist, Russophilic and Eurosceptic seems to be an extension of the discord.
", and even the unofficial Serbian motto "Only Unity Saves the Serbs" (Samo sloga Srbina spasava) illustrates the national frustration with the inability to unite over important issues.
As with many other peoples, there are popular stereotypes at the local level: in popular jokes and stories, northern Serbs of Vojvodina (Lale)[20] are perceived as phlegmatic, undisturbed and slow; Montenegrins are lazy and pushy; people from Pirot are misers;[21] Bosnians are raw and simple; Serbs from Central Serbia (Šumadija) are often portrayed as capricious and malicious, etc.
[22] A Baroque church 'Our Lady of the Rocks' on an island in the Boka Kotorska, in Montenegro is one of the most notable pieces of architecture in Serbia from the early modern period; many fine specimens of silverware dating from the 17th century are contained within its walls.
Traditional Serbian art was beginning to show some Baroque influences at the end of the 18th century as shown in the works of Nikola Nešković, Teodor Kračun and Jakov Orfelin.
During Ottoman rule, Serbs were forbidden to own property, to learn to read and write and denied the use of musical instruments.
The gusle, a one-stringed instrument, was used by Serbian peasants during this time in an effort to find a loophole through the stringent Ottoman laws.
[24] Several notable composers used motifs from Serbian folk music and composed works inspired by Serbian history or culture, such as Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Arthur Rubinstein, Antonín Dvořák, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Franz Schubert, Hans Huber and other.
The most notable postwar director is Dušan Makavejev, who is recognised internationally for Love Affair: Or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator in 1969.
In basketball, Serbian clubs are successful and participate regularly in European competitions, where they often make quarter-final and semi-final appearances.
The Serbian national basketball team is successful in international competitions, having won several FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket and Olympic gold medals.
Sremski Karlovci became the spiritual, political and cultural centre of the Serbs in the Habsburg Empire, with the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church residing in the town.
The town featured the earliest Serb and Slavic grammar school (Serbian: gimnazija/гимназија, French: Lycée) founded on August 3, 1791.
[35] The roots of the Serbian education system date back to the 11th and 12th centuries when the first Catholic colleges were founded in Vojvodina (Titel, Bac).
