Đurđevdan

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Đurđevi Stupovi, Orthodox Church dedicated to Saint George, in the ancient city of Ras in Serbia. Built during the 12th-century by the Serbian King Stefan Nemanja

Đurđevdan (Serbian: Ђурђевдан) is a Serbian religious holiday, celebrated on April 23 by the Julian calendar (May 6 by Gregorian calendar), which is the feast of Saint George and a very important Slava. He is one of the most important Christian saints in Orthodox churches. This holiday is attached to the tradition of celebrating the beginning of spring. Christian mythology holds that St. George was a martyr who died for his faith. On icons, he is usually depicted as a man riding a horse and killing a dragon. Đurđevdan is celebrated all over the serbian diaspora but mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska. In Serbian St. George is called Sveti Đorđe (Serbian Cyrillic: Свети Ђорђе).

Đurđevdan is also celebrated by the Gorani from the Gora region in southern Kosovo in Serbia. The Gorani are a Slavic Muslim group, who converted from Orthodox Christianity to Islam during the 18th century but kept a few Christian traditions, including Đurđevdan. The holiday has a center in and around the village of Globočica.

Đurđevdan (Romany: Ederlezi) is also a major holiday for Roma from former Yugoslavia, whether Orthodox or Muslim. This holiday celebrates the return of springtime and is considered the most important. The traditions of the Roma đurđevdan are based on decorating the home with flowers and blooming twigs as a welcoming to spring. It also includes taking baths added with flowers and washing hands with water from church wells. Also the walls of the home could be washed with the water. On the day of the feast it is most common to grill a lamb for the feast dinner. The appearance of music is also very important during this holiday. Except of dancing and singing the traditional Brass bands are popular.

In Croatia there is a Catholic version of Đurđevdan (St. George's Day) called Jurjevo (Đurđevo) and is celebrated on April 23 by Gregorian calendar. The tradition is mostly celebrated in northern Croatia, in the Zagreb County. According to tradition this day marks the beginning of spring. The use of bonfires is simulary like the Walpurgis Night. In Croatian St. George is called Sveti Juraj.

"Ðurđevdan" is also the name of a popular song by band Bijelo Dugme. The song is originally found on their studio album Ćiribiribela from 1988.