Serbian Statehood Day
Thursday, 15.2.2024 | Culture and traditions
Candlemas Day (Sretenje) — the Serbian Statehood Day has been marked by a series of events at the state and local level, in memory of the day when the First Serbian Uprising was launched at the Orašac Assembly in 1804 and day when the first Constitution of the Principality of Serbia was issued and confirmed by oath in Kragujevac in 1835.
The central state ceremony held on that occasion at the memorial complex in Orašac has been led by Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević as an envoy of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic, while the delegation of the Serbian Armed Forces has been led by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Želimir Glišović. The ceremony has been attended by members of the Government of Serbia, representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska, the clergy and diplomatic corps.
Members of the Serbian Armed Forces also took part in rendering military honors at the state ceremony in Oplenac, where Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević laid a wreath as an envoy of the President of the Republic, as well as in commemorative gatherings on the occasion of the Statehood Day across the country. They also took part in rendering military honors at the ceremony of awarding decorations within the competence of the President of the Republic, which was attended by the Minister of Defense and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff.
On the occasion of the greatest state and national holiday, the Guard's Representative Orchestra, together with the Police Orchestra of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has held a promenade concert in Belgrade this evening.
Today's activities were preceded by gun salutes in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Niš, a parade of the River Flotilla vessels on the Sava and Danube, a display of weapons and military equipment in Niš and a flyover of SAF planes and helicopters over major cities.
