Happy St. Blaise Day!

*This post is a couple weeks late*

After being home in America for a month, it was time to head back to Dubrovnik. It was so nice to see my friends and family and I even got to celebrate my 21^st birthday the traditional American way, but I was ready to return!

I picked the right time to return because the next day was a huge celebration in the city. It was a wonderful way to be greeted by the locals! Just kidding. They were celebrating St. Blaise Day or in Croatian Sv. Vlaho. It is a yearly celebration that commemorates their city Saint, which is St. Blaise. He is the saint that supposedly protects the throat so whenever someone would get sick or has a big singing concert they would go to the church to get blessed. In Croatia each city has its own Saint, but Dubrovnik’s celebration is special. Communities around Croatia come to Dubrovnik for the weekend and participate in all the events.

My roommate and I woke up at 7:00AM from the tambourines banging outside our window. When we looked out we saw a long line of people down the street waiting for their turn in the parade. The city was jam-packed and it was hard to get a good spot for the parade, but we managed. We watched as the little kids walked down the street with the nuns and as the Cardinals of Croatia were blessing everyone in the city. We even got to see the President of Croatia! He would often stop so the children could run up and hug him. It was adorable.

Sometimes I would see pictures of traditional costumes around Dubrovnik, but today I got to see them all worn around the city! Each community had different styles and colors. Monika was able to point out which communities were from the north and which communities came from Bosnia. The little kids dressed up were the cutest!

Throughout the day many Church services were help and many cannons were released. The city was crowded the entire day with families remembering their Saint. It was a wonderful time to return to the city I missed so much.