Serbia celebrates Statehood Day

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Serbia celebrates statehood day on Tuesday, marking the anniversaries of the 1st Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1804 and the confirmation of the first Constitution of the Principality of Serbia in 1835.

The state holiday is celebrated on Candlemas (Sretenje in Serbian) based on the Julian calendar which the Serbian Orthodox Church follows. The central ceremony is in the town of Orasac where the gathering that launched the 1804 uprising was held. That ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, as envoy of the Serbian President, and Radovan Viskovic, Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency member Milorad Dodik.

In a separate ceremony, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is presenting state decorations to individuals and institutions.

The Kingdom of Serbia celebrated statehood day on February 15 until the holiday was abolished with the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croatia and Slovenes after World War I.