VIDOVDAN IS THE THREAD THAT SUSTAINED THE SERBIAN PEOPLE THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES

PALE, JUNE 28 /SRNA/ - Vidovdan and the Kosovo vow are part of the collective identity of the Serbian people; they were the thread that sustained the Serbian nation through difficult times, said Draga Mastilović, director of the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of East Sarajevo, in a statement to SRNA.

Mastilović emphasized that Vidovdan is one of the most significant dates not only in Serbian history but also in the collective consciousness of the Serbian people. It was because of Vidovdan, he added, that the Serbs managed to preserve their Orthodox faith and maintain the Serbian nation during the period of Ottoman occupation. "Lazar’s choice of the heavenly kingdom and the spirit of Saint Sava were the core inner threads of Serbian society, and throughout history, especially during the time of Ottoman occupation, those elements preserved national consciousness," said Mastilović. According to him, the Serbian people have been depleted over the centuries in various ways - through migrations, suffering, Islamization, and conversion to Roman Catholicism... Mastilović assesses that Vidovdan and the Kosovo vow in general have remained not only a part of the collective memory but also a part of the collective identity of the Serbian people, especially since several major events in Serbian history, such as Gavrilo Princip’s assassination of Franz Ferdinand, occurred on Vidovdan. “The arrival of Ferdinand in Sarajevo and Bosnia on that day was seen as a provocation against the Serbian people,” Mastilović explained. In later historical periods, he added, it is evident that Vidovdan held great significance in the Serbian collective consciousness. “What is most interesting is that this day also held meaning for Serbian enemies, as actions against the Serbian people, particularly by foreign actors, were often deliberately taken on Vidovdan,” said Mastilović.