This year as well, Doček connects the celebrations of years 2022 and 7530. The unique art celebration in Europe will open the year of the title of European Capital of Culture in Novi Sad, with a programme that will be seen in our region for the first time.
As part of the opening ceremony of the title year, events will be organised to symbolically reflect on the traditional Serbian glory, our first cultural heritage included in the register of the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO.
It is not enough to simply repeat and maintain a tradition. It is necessary to renew it and nurture it in a creative way, and that is why we inform you, guided by the slogan ‘No one is invited to slava – everybody is already welcomed’, that the network of cultural stations will turn into a home where we will all celebrate this family holiday together, the slava Saint Basil the Great.
In Vojvodina, slava means welcoming all people, so Novi Sad, as a good host, celebrating its multiculturality, will open the doors of cultural stations to its neighbours, friends, immediate and extended family to celebrate the traditional ceremony in a special, modern ambience.
Nurturing the original form of slava, the event will begin with the rite of consecration of wheat, cutting ritual bread and prayer. The ceremony is accompanied by the programme of church choirs that, performing troparions, give the ambience a special solemn charm. After the ceremony, the godfather of slava, approaches the so-called ‘raising of slava’ – a toast to the slava (celebration). The present people will experience the traditional feast, followed by a special music programme of eight tamburitza orchestras, which will present the rich musical – tamburitza heritage of all peoples of Vojvodina. In addition to the godfather, the guests will be welcomed by girls and boys in Serbian, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Ruthenian, Bunjevci, and Šokci folk costumes. Furthermore, each cultural station will have, as special guests, representatives of a cultural-artistic society of the national minorities – communities from Novi Sad and its surroundings.
The identity of all of us, i.e. the beauty and richness of the diversity of folk costumes of the peoples of Vojvodina, Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, and from central, western, southern and eastern Serbia, will be best presented at the exhibition of world-renowned graphic designer Pavel Surov. This specific reinterpretation of the intangible cultural heritage, presented in a new light, is part of the unique scenography of all spaces in which the programme is implemented.
In addition to the exhibition, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a music repertoire, a fair of numerous handicrafts, as well as a fair of gastronomic heritage. Members of folklore ensembles of local cultural and artistic societies will prepare a children’s programme that depicts the role of our youngest fellow citizens in the winter cycle of traditional customs (korinđanje [carolling], pijukanje [cheeping], and materice and oci [when married women and fathers give gifts to children]), and the whole experience will be embellished by choral, vocal and instrumental traditions adapted to their age.
The slava is actually an overture to a series of events that will be multiple reflections of the interculturality of Novi Sad and Vojvodina and will follow the zenith of the entire celebration of New Year’s Eve. The citizens of Novi Sad will first symbolically light up their city on 31 December with performances inspired by the life and work of the great scientist who lit up the whole world – Nikola Tesla, and the idea of the two openings of the European Capital of Culture will culminate in the multimedia play ‘Zeniteum :: 2022’ by Slovenian avant-garde director Dragan Živadinov, scheduled for 13 January.
The celebration that pushes boundaries also brings us some of the most important names of the world, European and regional scene in the field of performing and visual arts, and together with them, will present numerous musicians, whose concerts will be a special experience for the audience due to the unusual ambience.
During the programme within Doček, all epidemiological measures will be respected, due to which the number of places for indoor concerts on 13 January will be limited. Ticket sales will start soon, and you can follow the information on our website docekns.rs
You can find detailed programme and timetable for Doček on the official website docekns.rs
You can find most of the European Capital of Culture 2022 programme on the official website of the ‘Novi Sad – European Capital of Culture’.
