Croatian Victory and Thanksgiving Day - Community Celebrations
On a glorious Canberra Sunday afternoon, the Croatian community in the Nation’s Capital celebrated Croatian Victory and Thanksgiving Day with a traditional lunch at the Australian Croatian Club (O’Connor).
Following the disappointing turn out at the July spit roast lunch, the local community responded in strong numbers to the Club’s call for a demonstration of their desire for regular Sunday lunches and commitment to Croatian celebrations.
A feature of the day was the broadcasting on the Club’s TVs of many of the most popular domoljub songs from the 1990s ranging from Croatian Band-Aid’s “Moja domovina” to the late Tomislav Ivčić’s "Stop the War in Croatia” to Vladimir Kočiš Zec’s “Gospodine Generale - Zapamtite Vukovar”.
In fact the diner’s seemed to enjoy the songs almost as much as they enjoyed the food. Which is saying alot, given the club sold out almost immediately the handful of “porcije” it had available at the end of the day.
The celebratory lunch capped off yet another big week for the Club, with the increasingly popular Friday night bistro setting a new trading record, the announcement that Sydney’s premier band “Prva Liga” will perform at the Club on New Year’s Eve and as reported exclusively in CroExpress, the Club announcing that the legends of the Australian Croatian music scene, Major Minor, will be back in Canberra on 18-20 March 2011 for “Hrvatska Festa 2011”.
Now that, just like the success of the largest European military operation since World War 2 which liberated a third of the Republic of Croatia’s territory, humiliated the Mladić forces in Bosnia and saved the inhabitants of the Bihac pocket from a Srebrenica type fate, really is something worth celebrating.
30 June 2010
Dan Državnosti celebrated in Canberra
The Croatian Community of Canberra and Queanbeyan celebrated Croatia's National Day (Dan Državnosti) with a thoroughly enjoyable night last Friday at the Australian Croatian Club.
Those in attendance at the traditional community celebrations included the community's favourite "Mađar", Mr Steve Dospot MLA and representatives from the Croatian Ethnic School, Croatian Woman’s Association, Croatian Radio Program and Punchbowl Club.
An interesting feature of these formalities was the showing of the late Dr Franjo Tudjman's speech on the original Dan Državnosti date – 30 May 1990, and its call for unity amongst the Croatian people.
Other key aspects of the formalities included information about the history and joy that the declaration of Croatian independence on 25 June 1991 bought to Croatians both at home and abroad.
In fact the quote by Cardinal Stepinac during his 1946 show trial by the Communist Yugoslav regime that the "Croatian nation unanimously declared itself for the Croatian State and I would have been remiss had I not recognised and acknowledged this desire of the Croatian people enslaved by the former Yugoslavia.” seemed as appropriate to describe the feelings of Croatians on 30 May 1990 and 25 June 1991 as they were on 10 April 1941.
Entertainment on the night was provided by Marina Tomašević, Ante Sivrić and Tihomir Mišić, who were in Australia as part of their fittingly titled “Ljepa Naša” tour. There rendition of the “narodna himna” proved particularly popular and something that is sure to remain in the memory of those who attended.
A further treat on the night was the running of footage from the 1991 peace demonstration in Canberra that attracted in excess of 25,000 Croatians from across Australia and the 1995 opening of the Croatian Embassy by the late Dr Franjo Tudjman.
Whilst people enjoyed the flash back to two key events in the 1990s, it did raise questions regarding what ever happened to the unity amongst Croatians so evident in the footage.
That lack of unity clearly impacted on the attendance, with the lower than expected number put down to the decision of the Croatian Embassy and local priest to break with convention and hold two separate events. Then again the disgraceful anti-Croatian changes to the Croatian constitution, whereby parliamentary seats for Croatians living abroad where reduced from a potential 12 to three, didn't exactly enhance the local community's patriotic fever.
On a positive note, the Club President's call for unity and hope that the disappointing events in Canberra this week will never be repeated was met with thunderous applause.
A spokesman for the Club was equally up beat following an enjoyable and profitable night. "The Club's mantra is - being proud of one's Croatian heritage and history is the right thing to do, as such the Australian Croatian Club will continue to celebrate key Croatian dates, resist attempts to associate the modern Croatian state with the barbaric Yugo-Communist state and strive for greater co-operation and unity within our community."
And that, just like Dan Državnosti itself is something worth celebrating.
What-is-the-point-of-Croatian-diplomatic-missions-in-Australia - Article by Cro Express, Australia's leading Croatian newspaper.
