November 24, 2021 - This Saturday the program of the 8th Dubrovnik Winter Festival will begin with the lighting of the first Advent candle and the Christmas lighting in the city, which will last for 40 days.

As Turističke Priče reports, the program of the 8th Dubrovnik Winter Festival event will begin on Saturday, November 27, with the lighting of the first Advent candle. On the same day, the holiday lighting will be turned on, which will complete the magic of this year's holidays for 40 days, and there will be a concert by Nena Belan & Fiumens in front of the Church of St. Vlaho.

The center of events returns to Stradun where the people of Dubrovnik and their visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy six concerts. Thus, on December 11, the group Magazin will perform, and on December 29, Marko Škugor will sing. The celebratory atmosphere on the last day of 2021 will begin at noon when Dubrovnik bartenders will prepare New Year's cocktails in front of the City Café, and the rock New Year's Eve will be prepared by Silente and Vatra with spectacular fireworks at exactly midnight.

Traditionally, on January 1, a waltz will be danced on the Stradun with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, while the Rišpet klapa will take care of the evening entertainment on the first day of the new year on Stradun.

The charity concert for the Covid ward of the Dubrovnik General Hospital will be held on Monday, December 6, at the Valamar Lacroma Hotel. Music diva Tereza Kesovija, klapa Ragusa and Ženska klapa FA Linđo will perform accompanied by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. Under the direction of maestro Huta, the DSO will traditionally perform at the Dubrovnik Christmas Concert to be held on Sunday, December 19, and on that occasion soprano Valentina Fijačko, tenor Roko Radovan, vocals Goran Karan, Lucija Pećar and Nikoleta Ivanković and the klapa Ragusavecchia. As for the concerts on Stradun, entry will be possible upon presentation of the EU digital COVID certificate.

From 16 to 19 December, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, in cooperation with Dubrovnik restaurants, will organize the traditional "Cod Days" when many restaurants will be able to taste the holiday gastronomic treat cod, prepared in various ways.

Saturday mornings will traditionally be marked by the performance of the Folklore Ensemble Linđo with free tourist sightseeing organized by the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, while Saturday afternoons will be reserved for also free, thematic guided tours called "Golden Age of Dubrovnik" organized by the Marin Držić Home.

For the youngest on Friday, December 10, the North Pole Station will open its doors in Lazareti, and Lapad Bay will be enriched this year by the "Colorful Winters" program as well as the Advent train, which will run its small passengers for free every day from 10 am to 4 pm. This year, too, there will be a visit by Moto Mrazova, who will arrive on Stradun on December 26. Last year's novelty Pop-up Kolenda bus will delight everyone who meets it, and passengers will delight the youngest with sweet gifts.

Dubrovnik kindergartens and primary schools will once again decorate the windows of the City as part of the Marin Držić Home project "Advent Calendar on Stradun", and all lovers of good photography, except for the "photo point" location under the Advent wreath on Luža, expect a new one in the Rector's Palace atrium.

Dubrovnik cultural institutions have prepared various contents for the Dubrovnik Winter Festival for all ages, from exhibitions, lectures, and workshops to plays, so the Marin Držić Theater will perform its favorite Nutcracker in November and December in the version of Lada Kaštelan.

All programs of the 8th Dubrovnik Winter Festival will take place in accordance with the current recommendations for the prevention of COVID-19 infection, published by the Croatian Institute of Public Health. To attend the events, it will be necessary to register in advance with the institution or organizer of the event that is planned to visit.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

December 19, 2018 — In the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs every year between December 20th and December 23rd, and it is the shortest and thus the darkest day of the year.

This year's winter solstice (or suncostaj in Croatian) falls on Friday, December 21st, and according to Zvjezdarnica, here in Croatia, the sun will rise at 7.36 AM and set at 4.12 PM.

The term solstice has its roots in the Latin word solstitium, which literally translates to "when the Sun stops; stands still." This is because, on this day, as seen from the Earth, the Sun reaches its southern-most position and seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn until it turns around, i.e. reverses its direction.

Throughout history, to mark the beginning of a new year and welcome nature's springtime rebirth, many ancient civilizations celebrated the winter solstice with a number of different feasts, fasts, and fires.

These pre-Christian traditions, many of which have roots in European paganism, have survived to this day and are nowadays interwoven with the Christian beliefs and culture even in modern-day Croatia.

One such folklore tradition is the so-called koledarenje, a term denoting colinde or winter solstice songs — a type of Christmas caroling widespread throughout the Balkans, especially among Indo-European nations. In Croatia, this tradition is particularly emblematic of Primorje, Istria, Lika, and Dalmatia.

The term koledarenje comes from the old Slavic word koleda (lit. new year) while probably the most known Croatian koledari are the ones from Dubrovnik.

Koledarenje is one of the oldest customs in Croatia, and the traditional period to sing these carols is from St Thomas's Day on December 21st, until the morning of Christmas Day.

Here is the video of Dubrovnik's youngest koledari. Ironically, while our president named Kolinda apparently can't sing to save her life, these Dubrovnik children sure can.

If you happen to be in the area, and in the mood for celebrating the 2018 winter solstice, don't miss the Dubrovnik Winter Festival.

Stay tuned for more related content by following TCN's dedicated page.

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This year's Dubrovnik Winter Festival program has been presented in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, the Dalmatian capital of Split and the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.

Despite everything else on the agenda, Dubrovnik's Winter Festival found itself at the top.

At a press conference held today in Dubrovnik, Deputy Mayor Jelka Tepšić described the program details for this year's Winter Festival.