The Serbian community is looking to strengthen its bond with Malta by inviting everyone to its Vidovdan feast on Sunday, an important Serbian national holiday and religious celebration.
The event will take place at Qawra point near Seaside Kiosk and feature traditional music, dancing, food and a play performed by youngsters.
We see Malta as our second home and think this is a great opportunity to bring our two communities together- Ana Zdravkovic, Maltese-Serbian Community NGO
The making of a traditional fish broth will start at midday, with the feast’s programme of events – held in both Serbian and English – kicking off at 6pm.
“We would like to invite as many individuals as possible so that we can share our culture and traditions with those who are interested,” said the general secretary of the Maltese-Serbian Community NGO, Ana Zdravković.
“The whole goal of our NGO is to achieve mutual acceptance and a bond between our two cultures,” she said, adding that everyone is welcome to attend.
“We see Malta as our second home and think this is a great opportunity to bring our two communities together.”
'My daughter feels as much Maltese as Serbian'
Many of the Serbian community members feel a strong connection to Malta, she said, stressing that, for many children in particular, Malta is as much a part of their identity as their Serbian roots. “I brought my daughter here when she was four... she feels as much Maltese as Serbian.”
After first being held in Malta in 2019, when it welcomed President Emeritus Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca – something the organisers describe as a “great honour” – the feast was forced to take a two-year hiatus due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Zdravković explained.
Having restarted celebrations last year, this June will mark the third edition of the festival in the country.
Officially taking place on June 28, the Vidovdan feast commemorates the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when the Serbian leader Prince Lazar was killed by opposing forces from the Ottoman Empire.
The historical moment is credited in Serbian culture as having delayed a greater Ottoman advance into Europe and has since been seen as a defining moment in Serbian cultural identity.
Today, the feast additionally commemorates other historical events, including the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian prince Franz Ferdinand in 1914 – an event that would lead to the outbreak of World War I – and the approval of the Vidovdan Constitution, the first of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Sunday’s event is being held with the support of Srbi za Srbe, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Malta, the Embassy Office of Serbia in Malta, the Maltese-Serbian Community NGO, the cultural organisation KUD “Dukat”, the St Jelena Anzujska Serbian supplementary school and the Circle of Serbian Sisters.
The feast will be opened by Serbian parish priest Fr Risto Gorančić followed by a speech from the head of the Serbian embassy office in Malta, Boško Šukić.