Today marks the Armistice Day in the First World War, in memory of November 11, 1918, when a truce was signed in the French city of Compiegne, ending the Great War.
In Serbia, which suffered relatively the most casualties in the First World War, this date has been celebrated as a national holiday since 2012.
The holiday will be marked with a central state wreath-laying ceremony, and President Aleksandar Vučić will present decorations to deserving individuals and institutions that stood out during the fight against the coronavirus.
On the occasion of the Day of Reconciliation, the sculpture “Blind Guslar”, the work of sculptor Paško Vučetić, which was removed by the Austro-Hungarians in 1916 when they destroyed the monument to leader Karađorđe, will be returned to Kalemegdan after 104 years, near the Monument of Gratitude to France at Belgrade Fortress.
Natalija Ramonda’s flower is used as the main motif for the Armistice Day emblem.
It is an endangered species of flower that grows in eastern Serbia and on Mount Nidža, on the highest peak of Kajmakčalan, where the Serbian army, under the command of Duke Živojin Mišić, fought fiercely against the Bulgarians, during the creation of preconditions for the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front.
It spreads at altitudes of 350 to 2,200 meters and grows in extremely inaccessible places, mainly in gorges, on limestone rocks where it is dry and cold.
That is why it is connected with the Great War, because it was in such areas that decisive battles took place at the end of the war. It is especially interesting that Natalija Ramonda belongs to the ancient, practically fossil species.
The symbolism of the flower is multiple, both because of the habitat and because of the name.
The flower is named after Queen Natalija Obrenović, and it is known as the phoenix flower, that is, even when it dries completely, if it is watered, Natalija Ramonda can come to life, which indicates the resurrection of the Serbian state from the ashes after the First World War.
The Serb member of the Presidency of BiH, Milorad Dodik, pointed out that the Day of Reconciliation in the First World War was a great date in Serbian history, because after four years of Golgotha, the Serbian people, with great sacrifices, managed to achieve a historic victory over the enemy.
TST
