Vidovdan
Saint Vitus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493
Observed by	ethnic Serbs (Serbian Orthodox Christians)
Type	Christian, cultural
Significance	Veneration of St. Vitus
Date	June 15 Gregorian Calendar June 28 Julian Calendar)
Observances	Feast day (Slava)
Related to	Slava

Vidovdan (Serbian Cyrillic: Видовдан) is a Serbian religious holiday, St. Vitus' Day, whose feast is on June 15 (Gregorian Calendar, June 28 according to the Julian Calendar, in use by the Serbian Orthodox Church). It is a Slava (Patron saint feast day) of St. Vitus, connected in Serbian culture to the Battle of Kosovo, among other events.¹

The feastday is sacred to ethnic Serbs (Serbian Orthodox Christians) and the cult was especially active among the South Slavic Serbs, who transformed the pagan Slavic god (deity) of war, fertility and abundance "Svetovid"¹ (Vid) into the Sicilian martyr (St. Vitus) -who exorcized the evil out of Diocletian's son, at the time of the final christianization of the Serbs during the rule of Basil I (867 - 886) by Byzantine missionairies of Constantinople Cyril and Methodius. Through the centuries, Serbian historical events such as the defeat at the Battle of Kosovo became sources for spiritual strength and patriotism. It was not a coinsidence that Gavrilo Princip assassinates the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Vidovdan, triggering the First World War.²

Vidovdan has long been considered a date of special importance to ethnic Serbs and the Balkans, the following events each took place on Vidovdan, but are expressed here in the Gregorian Calendar:

• on June 28, 1389, the Ottoman Empire fought against Serbia in the Battle of Kosovo, and Serbian Prince Lazar was slain in battle. Ottoman Sultan Murad I was killed by Serbian knight Miloš Obilić.
• on June 28, 1914 the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince, Franz Ferdinand, triggers the First World War.
• on June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I.
• on June 28, 1921, the Serbian King Alexander I proclaimed the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution (Vidovdanski ustav).
• on June 28, 1948, the Cominform published, on the initiative of its Soviet delegates Zhdanov, Malenkov and Suslov, in a "Resolution on the State of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia" their condemnation of the Yugoslavian communist leaders - this happening is seen as the date that marks the final split between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
• on June 28, 1989, on the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo, Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević delivered the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
• on June 28, 2001, Slobodan Milošević was deported to ICTY to stand trial.
• on June 28, 2006, Montenegro was announced as the 192nd member state of the United Nations.
• on June 28, 2008 was the inaugural meeting of the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija.

In Bulgaria it is called Vidovden (Видовден) or Vidov Den (Видов ден) and is particularly well-known in the western part (Shopluk) of the country.

References

• Ivanova, Radost. "Vidovden among the Bulgarians and Serbs" (in Bulgarian). Projekat Rastko Bugarska. http://www.rastko.org.rs/rastko-bg/folklor/rivanova-vidov.php. Retrieved 2006-06-28. 

See also

• Vidovdan (song)

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