Hospitality
The Serbs are very hospitable and open-minded, also towards visitors from other countries. When introducing you first shake hands. If you know each other a little bit and get on well, the next time you meet you will be kissed three times on the cheek and hugged warmly. If you go out to dinner with Serbs as a guest, it is customary to be invited. To insist on paying would be rather impolite.
Weddings
Weddings are a big and important event in Serbia because marriage is highly regarded. The wedding celebrations are very lavish, especially in the rural regions of the country. The bride receives gifts in the form of household items, which should correspond to her task in the traditional sense.
In addition, most of the time, the bride’s family has to pay for the cost of the celebration. In more modern areas, however, the costs are often shared. Here women are mostly more equal than in the country.
The role of the woman
During the socialist era of Yugoslavia, men and women were almost equal. As many men and women were employed in the economy and women were predominantly equal. In the 1990s these structures collapsed and “retraditionalization” took place.
The “traditional image of women” was promoted, according to which women should mainly be employed in the household while the man works and takes on the role of head of the family. The strengthening of the church at this time promoted this development. To this day, women are unfortunately still victims of domestic violence and are sometimes even viewed as property by their husbands. They are also disadvantaged on the labor market in Serbia.
Soccer
Yugoslavia already took part in the World Cup with a national team. In 2006 you were there as Serbia-Montenegro. As an independent country, Serbia qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and even won a game against Germany. The people in Serbia are also enthusiastic about football and children in particular like to play football on the street and the football field.
Disadvantage of the Roma
The Roma ethnic minority is oppressed and discriminated against in Serbia. Roma live excluded from society in slums, where they build their homes out of all sorts of junk. Rats, trash and disease are commonplace in these settlements.
However, the Roma have little chance of escaping this misery, because their chances of finding a job on the labor market are rather poor due to discrimination. Many therefore flee to other countries, for example to Germany. Here, however, their asylum application is mostly rejected and they have to go back to their misery. The children especially suffer from the situation. You can read about the problems they have to struggle with in the children’s problems.
Eating in Serbia
Influences on Serbian cuisine
Sometimes the Romans, sometimes the Ottomans, then the Austrians in Serbia and in between it formed a common country together with other Balkan states. It goes without saying that a lot of different dishes came to Serbia during the story. Oriental cuisine has spread particularly strongly in Serbia, especially Turkish.
Spicy food
A lot of meat is typical of many dishes in Serbia. There is, for example, a lot of lamb, which is spiced up with the hot spice ajvar. Otherwise you season the food very strongly.
What is ajvar?
Ajvar is a puree made from eggplant and paprika that is properly seasoned with pepper.
The Serbian national dish
As a country located in Europe detailed by thesciencetutor, Serbia has appointed its own national dish: Djuvec. This is braised rice to which ingredients such as peas, onions, paprika and garlic are added. As is often the case in Serbia, a piece of meat is often served with it. By the way, in Serbia you usually eat three times a day, with the largest serving at noon.
Visiting Serbia
If you were to travel to Serbia and meet the local people in an open-minded and friendly manner, it probably won’t be long before you are invited to dinner. Perhaps you would go to one of the many restaurants with your new Serbian friends and order pasulj, a Serbian bean soup, for your starter.
You might also order a Šar planinski čaj, a herbal tea. The main course would probably be a Serbian meat dish such as sarma, which is cabbage rolls made from minced meat, rice and white cabbage leaves. For this purpose one might pogaca dish (Serbian peasant bread).
For dessert, it is quite possible that you can choose from a variety of delicacies such as ratluk (a sweet made from sugar and starch), čupavci (coconut slices) or palačinke (pancakes). In the end, your host would definitely insist on paying, because hospitality is very important in Serbia.
