Croatia+Culture


 * Geography || History || Culture || Politics || Economics || Classroom Activities || Teacher's Page ||

CULTURE toc media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Zagreb,+Croatia&daddr=Zadar,+Croatia&hl=en&geocode=FYAUuwIdEtDzACk5zALJktZlRzGKwvsoliRFOg%3BFb4joQIdF2DoACmPuMDSYvphRzGEB_QTHD4yEg&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.578161,56.513672&ie=UTF8&ll=44.96129,15.53648&spn=1.70724,0.8908&output=embed" width="425" height="350" align="center"

What to get to the coast from the nation's capital? Look no further! Check out the interactive map above and try out different cities of your own liking.

The Basics:
Croatian culture is a mix of fourteen centuries and includes influences from Roman, Greek, & Illyerian traditions. Natives can relate to both Medeterainian cultures as well as Central European lifestyles.

Religion:
The Romain Catholic Church of Croatia is the main religion. Public schools allow religious teaching but is not mandatory. Public holidays in Croatia include Epiphany, Easter Monday, Corpus Christi Day, Assumption Day, All Saint's Day, Christmas, and St. Stephen's Day or Boxing Day. The government is closely tied to the Catholic Religious leaders. Other popular religious communities include: Surb Orthodox Church, Islamic Community of Croatia, Evangelical Church, Reformed Christi an Church, and Pentecostal Church.

Music & Dance:
Croatia honors its traditional styles of music including popular music. Traditional folk styles include tamburica, klapa, and gusle. They are mostly played with traditional string and woodwind instruments. Cultural dance is also centered around traditional music. More recently the Croatian Rap scene has exploded, following the influences of other Eastern European countries. American pop music is also part of their lyrical taste.

See for yourself! Does it look like any other dancing you have seen before? Sound familiar at all? media type="youtube" key="eUrwlGNw-10" width="425" height="350"

Architecture & Art:
Croatia was a source of visual art starting in the medieval times to present. In the middle ages Croatia was an important hub for architecture and art in south eastern Europe. Many of the country's artists flourished during the Renaissance. The majority of Croatian art centers around its religious history, mainly Christian and Catholic sentiments. One of the earliest pieces of Croatian art is a baptismal font of Prince Vieslav from Nin



A great example of Byzantine architecture exists in Croatia, most famously in Porec's Euphrasian Basiclica which birth dates back to the 6th century. The first distinctively Croatian design feature emerged around 800 AD and appears frequently on buildings until the 11th century. The interlacing ornamentation popularly noted in Croatian architecture is called "pleter" and is still a popular design feature across the globe. Click below to see for yourself!

media type="youtube" key="Is9ehGMMknc" width="425" height="350" align="center"

Traditions:
"Sretan Bozic!" is what you would say on Christmas morning to your family or friends in Croatia. But don't expect lights and tinsel to decorate the tree but rather fresh fruits, paper chains, and candles. Celebrations start December 13th and last through the end of the calendar year. For most celebrations larger portions than usual are common. Special cakes are prepared, fried cheese, spicy meats, and dishes made with phyllo are traditional forms of celebration. A funny Croatian wedding tradition is to stall the groom from seeing the bride to be by putting obstacles in his way en route to the ceremony! How interesting? Additionally female relatives walk around a well three times to symbolize the holy trinity and throw apples into a well to wish good fertility onto the couple.

Food:
Typically Croatians eat a late lunch which consists of chicken or beef soup, cooked meat (usually pork), potatoes, and bread. Greens with vinegar and oil are served in the spring and summer and pickled vegetables in the winter. In the north and inland, the majority of the foods has an Austrian or Hungarian flavor. Along the coast meals include fish or lamb (common in the highland region), pasta, risotto, or polenta. Breakfast is usually strong coffee and bread with jam. Dinner traditionally consists of leftovers form lunch, cold meats, and cheese with bread. People commonly eat in their own homes with families, but also eat snacks on the streets. Almost everyone has coffee in cafes on a regular basis, much like many other European countries (Italy, France, etc). However, people rarely eat at restaurants because they are very formal and expensive. Lately a variety of fast foods have been made available, including typical ethnic food.

Language & Dialect:
The name for the standard language and dialect spoken by the Croats is hrvatski jezik. Croatian is a Slavic language that arrived in the region with the migration of the Slavs in the 6th century. The language evolved into two branches, East South Slavic and West South Slavic. Serbian and Croatian are derived from the West South Slavic group. Later in Croatia's eventful history a series of occupants such as Ottoman, Venetian, Hapsburg, and Italian altered and enriched the language with new German, Turkish, and Italian words.

Most all Croatians speak another language besides West South Slavic. In the north the second language is most likely German, on the coast it will probably be Italian. English is widely spoken although not universally spoken. Anyone working in the tourist business in any way will have definitely mastered some English and for young people in Croatia English is predominately the language of choice.

People in Croatia are notorious for standing close to one another and talking loudly. Formality is maintianed in language between people who do not know each other very well. Strangers often nod their heads in passing and say hello. People who are on friendly terms greet each other with a traditional kiss on both cheeks. Men and women kiss, women and women kiss, and men and men kiss. Young people are expected to offer the first greeting to older people, and women to men.

Education:
Croatian children enter school at the age of 6 and typically exit at the age of 18. They have the oppurtunity to pass exams to reach university, which has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Sports:
Earliest recorded sporting event in Croatia was a boat race in 1764. It took place near Milna an island of Brac, two fishing boats competed against each other. One representing Spit and the other Makarska. The Makaran boat triumphed! The first international soccer match where Croatia participated with its national name was held in 1907 against Czechia. The oldest soccer club is Backa, founded in 1901, played in the Croatian league. It is the oldest soccer club in south eastern Europe.

Comprehension Check! 1. What does "Sretan Bozic!" mean? A. good morning! B. Happy Easter! C. Merry Christmas D. See ya later

2. What is the most popular sport in Croatia? A. sailing B. table tennis C. soccer D. archery

Highlight below to reveal answers. 1. C 2. C

I Information for this page provided by: [] [] []