Our
Lady of Bistrica Prayer
Immaculate Mother of Jesus, We honor You
as God's chosen one, beautiful, beloved, and free from
all sin. Keep watch over us, pray that we may rise above
our sins and failings and come to share the fullness of
grace. Be a Mother to us in the order of grace by assisting
us to live your obedience, your faith, your hope and your
love.
Amen.
Croatian
Anthem
Our beautiful homeland,
O so fearless and gracious.
Our fathers' ancient glory,
May you be blessed forever.
Dear, you are our only glory,
Dear, you are our only one,
Dear, we love your plains,
Dear, we love your mountains.
Sava, Drava, keep on flowing,
Danube, do not lose your vigour,
Deep blue sea, tell the world,
That a Croat loves his homeland.
Whilst his fields are kissed by sunshine,
Whilst his oaks are whipped by wild winds,
Whilst his dear ones go to heaven,
Whilst his live heart beats.!
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The Croatian national anthem was written by Antun Mihanovic,
in 1835 it was first printed in the "Danica"
newspaper under the name "Horvatska domovina".
Subsequently in 1891 it was first sung as the Croatian
national anthem under the name of "Lijepa nasa"
by the Croatian-Slavonian Economic Association in Zagreb.
Antun Mihanovic; was born 10 June 1796 in Zagreb and
died 14 November 1861.
The music was credited to
Josip Runjanin (1821-1878)
Za
sva pitanja i kontakt, Molimo posaljite nam
e-mail
Father
Christopher Coric, O.F.M., Conv.
2P |
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Croatia
Croatia
- HRVATSKA
The
Republic of Croatia is a European country situated along
the Adriatic Sea and its hinterland. It stretches from
the slopes of the Alps and deep into the Pannonian Valley
to the banks of the Danube and Drava rivers.
Like many countries in Western Europe, Croatia was founded
on the ruins of the Roman Empire. When they arrived in
the territory of present-day Croatia, the Croats were
politicaly organized in principalities. In 925, Croatian
King Tomislav united the principalities, establishing
the first Croatian state. Later, Croatia retained its
legal status and autonomy within the framework of the
Hungarian empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy.
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The
Croatian flag
The
red-white-blue tricolour has been was officially proclaimed,
and used as the Croatian flag since 1848, symbolising the
Pan-Slavic colors. Under the influence of revolutionary
movements in Europe, a simple tricolour was made. The flag
was, of course, without any coat of arms. However, it was
used as local flag in a big empire, so it remained more
or less internationally unknown, but it became one of the
most important symbols of the Croatian people. Very often
it can be seen on old postcards, most often together with
Croatian coats (normally not on the flag, but from time
to time as a part of the flag).The current flag and the
coat of arms were formally adopted on December 21, 1990.
when majority of the European countires recognized the independence
of the Republic of Croatia. Here is an interpretation of
colours of the Croatian flag made by Miroslav Krleza, a
great national writer, saying that the colours represent
the three symbols of Croatian history and people: blood
of Croatian martyrs, Croatian peaceful lamb like nature,
and Croatian devotion to God.
The
"historical coat of arms of Croatia" called Hrvatski
Grb or a The red and white checkerboard (šahovnica)
has been a symbol of Croatian kings since at least the 10th
century. It was traditionally conjenctured that the colours
originally represented two ancient Croat tribes, Red Croats
and White Croats. By late 19th century this coat of arms
had come to be considered a generally recognized symbol
for Croats and Croatia. On 21 December 1990,
the post-communist government of Croatia, passed a law prescribing
the design created by the graphic designer Miroslav Šutej.
The
oldest known example of the šahovnica in Croatia is
to be found on the wings of four falcons on a baptismal
font donated by king Petar Krešimir IV of Croatia (1058–1074)
to the Archbishop of Split. |
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CROATIA
- HOMELAND of THE TIE
The
tie (cravat) is a Croatian contribution to the the
general development of clothing and fashion. The etymology
of the word cravat indicates its Croatian origin.
In the mid-17th century the French introduced the
word cravate into their language, to describe a piece
of cloth worn round the neck.
It was, probably, derived from the word Krawatte from
a German dialect (the German literary standard language
word was Kroate - Croat). The Oxford dictionary of
Modern English Language has several different entries
for the word cravat: crabbat, crabat, cravett, crevet.
The word soon was introduced into other languages;
the Italian variant was croatta or cravatta, the Spanish
variant was known as corbata and the Flemish as krawaat.
One of the popular background explanations to why
cravat got its name after the Croats, is as follows:
In the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War
(1618 - 1648) in which France and Sweden had united
forces against the German Empire.
Croatian soldiers served as mercenaries in the light
cavalries of both armies. They first gained a reputation
of being exceptionally courageous and well trained
within the German ranks. After the victories they
won over the French troops, Cardinal Richelieu himself
insisted on including Croatian mercenaries in the
Franch army. In 1633 the first French troop made up
of Croatian cavalry was formed. One of the 24 cavalry
regiments formed in France in 1643, was the Croatian
regiment "Royal-Cravattes". It was an elitist
regiment which fought many battles for the kings Louis
XIII and Louis XIV. Its soldiers differed from other
French troops in their warring strategies, arms and
uniforms. A particular detail of their uniform was
a kerchief knotted round the neck. Not only did the
French soldiers adopt the fashion of wearing the neck
kerchief, but it soon grew very popular among the
civilians too.Even the French ladies members of the
French court and the French nobility, wore cravats,
and in the years to come, they could be seen knotted
round the necks of gentlemen in other European and
overseas countries. In the course of time the cravat
has appeared in a variety of shapes, colors and materials,
ranging from the simple knotted kerchive to more sophisticated,
sometimes uncomfortable, stiff, high collars. In the
l9th and 20th centuries the bow tie grew very popular.
The modern tie is a narrow, long piece of silk or
woolen fabric worn under a shirt collar and tied in
a knot at the front. There are many varieties of patterns
and colors designed to match the gentlemen's suits.
Tiepins can be used to fasten the ties to the shirt.
A tie could be a sign of affiliation - membership
to an artistic elitist group (the style a la Byron
or Baudelaire), or belonging to the middle class,
to the class of farmers and even revolutionaries (thus,
the common feature of the 1789 Franch revolutionaries
was a black kerchief tied around their necks).
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