| Saint George's DaySaint George's Day in Spring | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | 6 May |
| Next time | 6 May 2026 (2026-05-06) |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | Saint George's Day, andGeorge's Day in Autumn |
George's Day in Spring, orSaint George's Day,[a] is a Slavicreligious holiday, thefeast of Saint George celebrated on 23 April by theJulian calendar (6 May by theGregorian calendar). InCroatia andSlovenia, theRoman Catholic version of Saint George's Day,Jurjevo is celebrated on 23 April by the Gregorian calendar.
Saint George is one of the most importantsaints in theEastern Orthodox tradition. He is the patronmilitary saint inSlavic,Georgian,Circassian,Cossack andChetnik military tradition. Christiansynaxaria hold that Saint George was a martyr who died for his faith. Onicons, he is usually depicted as a man riding a horse andkilling a dragon.
Beyond Orthodox Christian tradition proper,Đurđevdan is also more generically a spring festival in theBalkans.
Saint George's Day, known asĐurđevdan (Ђурђевдан) inSerbian, is a feast day celebrated on 6 May (O.S. 23 April) in theEastern Orthodox Church.[1] As such, it is celebrated on that date by theSerb community in formerYugoslavia and in theSerb diaspora. It is also one of the manyslavas celebrated by Serbian families.[2] The day is celebrated and known asGergyovden inBulgaria andGjurgovdjen inMacedonia.[3] Đurđevdan is also a major holiday for theRomani communities informer Yugoslavia, whether Orthodox or Muslim.[4] The various spellings used by the Romani (Ederlezi, Herdeljez, Erdelezi) for it are variants of the TurkishHıdırellez.[5][6] It is also celebrated by the Slavic Muslim community ofGorani inKosovo, and by members of the uncanonicalMontenegrin Orthodox Church.
The holiday's rituals and festivities are related to the legend ofSt. George who is pictured as a brave young knight on a white horse slaying a dragon and saving a young maiden.[7] The holiday celebrates the return of springtime and is considered an important one. Celebrations are closely associated with pagan rituals and festivities associated with the awakening of nature and arrival of spring, dominant in the Balkans but also present in Europe. These rituals primarily consisted of sheep grazing, ritual slaughtering of a lamb, preparation of various dishes, ritual bath in the river or springs, setting of live fires, decorating with greenery and flowers and conducting of love spells.[8]
About a third of the population in Serbia have St. George as a patron saint, meaning that St. George's Day or Đurđevdan is celebrated as akrsna slava, through a family feast with ritual glorification. A popular tradition on St. George's eve is decorating home gates and houses with greens and flowers, this is particularly done by families whose patron saint is St. George.[2] A common way Đurđevdan is celebrated by Serbs is by "preparing a container of roses and green foliage, with an egg placed in the centre. Fresh water is poured over the flowers, and if the weather is kind enough, the container is placed in the garden. Children will be encouraged to wash their faces in this water and wishes for their good health are made by parents and grandparents."[9]
InSerbia, the celebration is linked to the end of Turkish rule, recollecting the days whenfighters made plots and plans in woodland hideouts.[9] In the past, the date was used by the fighters for gathering and organizing their units for campaigns, leading to battles up until the end of November when they disbanded and returned to their villages to await the arrival of spring again, when trees turned new leaves.[10] Thus another custom is spending the day in nature. Other traditions in some parts of Serbia include the ritual sacrifice of lamb, bathing children in spring flowers and blossoms or nettles and herbs. ThePrayer under Midžor Mt. Peak is a festival which has been organized since 2000 in the village ofVrtovac and includes prayer, national dances, local cuisine contests and other cultural events.[11] Serbs around the world also celebrate with singing, music, dancing and sporting events.[10]
The traditions of the Roma Durđevdan are based on decorating the home withflowers and bloomingtwigs as a welcoming to spring. It also includes takingbaths added with flowers, washing hands with water from church wells and cracking painted eggs.[4] Also, the walls of the home could be washed with the water. On the day of the feast it is most common to grill alamb for the feast dinner. The inclusion ofmusic is also important during the holiday; dancing and singing is common as are performances from traditionalbrass bands.[12]
In Bulgaria, 6 May is celebrated as St. George's Day as well as the Day of the Bulgarian Army with a military parade. St. George is considered the patron of spring verdure and fertility, and of shepherds and farmers.[13] Cattle rituals are performed, including the sacrificing of a lamb, offered to the saint. Villagers perform the traditional Bulgarian chain danceHoro, bathe in morning dew and "drink three sips of silent water from local springs as a cure" while a ritual meal is placed on a large table for the whole village.[14]
In Macedonia, the harvesting of herbs is an important symbolic act, done in St. George's day eve or early morning on the day. It is through this that various customs and songs are performed. At its core, the Macedonian tradition is in "the celebration of nature, the awakening of vegetation and life in general." Some of the herbs which are picked are believed to be magical. Similar to Bulgarian and Serbian customs, they are "aimed at ensuring progress and fertility of goods and fields, health, happiness and progress of people". Pilgrimages to holy sites devoted to St. George are also done in some villages.[15]
InCroatia, the feast day ofJurjevo is celebrated on 23 April by the Roman Catholic Croats mainly in the rural areas ofTuropolje andGornja Stubica.[16] In Croatian George is calledJuraj while inSerbian he's calledĐorđe (Ђорђе); inBulgarianGeorgi (Георги) and inMacedonianǴorǵija (Ѓорѓија). The use of bonfires is similar toWalpurgis Night. In Turopolje,Jurjevo involves aSlavic tradition where five most beautiful girls are picked to play asDodola goddesses dressed in leaves and sing for the village every day till the end of the holiday.
InBosnia, the major holidays of all religious groups were celebrated by all other religious groups as well, at least until religion-specific holidays became a marker of ethnic or nationalist self-assertion after the breakup ofYugoslavia. Roman Catholic Christmas, Orthodox Christmas, and the two MuslimBajrams were widely recognized by people of all ethnic groups, as was Ðurđevdan even though it was properly an Orthodox holiday and therefore associated with Serbs. Muslims in Bosnia referred to the holiday asJurjev and many celebrated it, while those who lived primarily in mixed Muslim and Orthodox villages did not.[17]
The holiday's widespread appeal, beyond the Orthodox Christian groups, in the Balkans, is evidenced inMeša Selimović's novelDeath and the Dervish, where the pious Muslim protagonist views it as a dangerous pagan throwback, but where it is clearly celebrated by all ethnic groups in the unnamed city of its setting (widely considered to beSarajevo).[citation needed]
"Ðurđevdan" is also the name of a popular song by bandBijelo dugme. The song is originally found on their studio albumĆiribiribela from 1988. It is a cover song (with different lyrics) for a popular traditional folk song of theRomani, "Ederlezi". Which was largely made famous byGoran Bregović.
Yuri's Day of Spring (Russian:Юрьев день весенний,romanized: Yuryev den vesenniy orЕгорий Вешний,romanized:Yegoriy Veshniy) is the Russian name for either of the twofeasts of Saint George celebrated by theRussian Orthodox Church.
Along with various other Christian churches, theRussian Orthodox Church celebrates the feast ofSaint George on 23 April (Julian calendar), which falls on 6 May of the WesternGregorian calendar. In addition to this, the Russian Church also celebrates the anniversary of theconsecration of the Church of St George inKiev byYaroslav the Wise (1051) on 26 November (Julian calendar), which currently falls on 9 December. One of the Russian forms of the name George beingYuri, the two feasts are popularly known asVesenniy Yuriev Den (Russian:Весенний Юрьев день,romanized: Vesenniy Yuryev den,lit. 'Yuri's Day in the Spring') andOsenniy Yuriev Den (Russian:Осенний Юрьев день,romanized: Osenniy Yuryev den,lit. 'Yuri's Day in Autumn').
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Intangible Heritage ofSerbia | ||
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| Oral tradition and language |  | |
| Performing arts (music, dance, and various productions) | ||
| Social practice, rituals and holidays (customs, beliefs, myths, festivals) |
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| Knowledge and skills related to nature and the universe | ||
| Traditional art (crafts, handicrafts, cuisine) |
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Slavic holidays | ||
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| Feast days |
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