Serbian culture is a term that encompasses the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Serbs and Serbia.
History
The Byzantine Empire had a great influence on Serbian culture as it initially governed the Byzantine and Frankish frontiers in the name of the emperors. Serbs soon formed an independent country. They were baptised by Eastern Orthodox missionaries and adopted the Cyrillic script, with both Latin and Catholic influences in the southern regions. The Republic of Venice influenced the maritime regions of the Serbian state in the Middle Ages. The Serbian Orthodox Church gained autocephaly from Constantinople in 1219. The pope declared Stefan the First Crowned king, starting a prosperous medieval period of Serbian culture. The Ottoman Empire conquered the Serbian Despotate in 1459, ending a cultural and political renaissance. Ottomans ruled the territory and influenced Serbian culture, especially in the southern regions. Meanwhile, in the northern regions, the Habsburg monarchy expanded into modern-day Serbian territory beginning at the end of the 17th century, culturally binding this part of the nation to Central Europe, rather than the Balkans. After the Serbian Revolution led to autonomy and eventual independence, its people became the primary influence on the culture of Serbia.
Religion
Conversion of the South Slavs from Slavic paganism to Christianity began in the early 7th century, long before the Great Schism, the split between the Greek Orthodox East and the Roman Catholic West. The Serbs were first Christianised during the reign of Heraclius (610–641). They were fully Christianised by Eastern Orthodox Missionaries (Saints) Cyril and Methodius in 869 during the reign of Basil I, who sent them following Knez Mutimir's acknowledgement of the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire.
After the Schism, those who lived under the Byzantine sphere of influence became Orthodox; those who lived under the Roman sphere of influence became Catholic. During Stefan Nemanjić's reign (1169–1196), Serbian principalities were united into a Kingdom and many churches and monasteries were built throughout the territories, including the Studenica Monastery. Stefan Nemanja's youngest son, Saint Sava (born as Rastko) was an influential Serbian monk who became the first independent Serbian Archbishop in 1219, granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Nemanjić dynasty played a pivotal role in the spread of Eastern Orthodoxy throughout the Balkans. As key patrons of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Nemanjić rulers were instrumental in the construction and endowment of numerous monastic complexes, thereby reinforcing both religious and cultural identity in medieval Serbia as well as literacy and high education. Their commitment to Orthodoxy significantly contributed to their status as one of the most influential dynasties in Serbian history.
The architectural and cultural legacy of the Nemanjić period is evident in the extensive network of monasteries that continue to serve as vital historical and religious landmarks. Notable examples include UNESCO World heritage sites like Studenica Monastery, Gračanica Monastery, Hilandar Monastery, Đurđevi Stupovi, Sopoćani Monastery, Visoki Dečani Monastery, Patriarchate of Peć and Our Lady of Ljeviš.
Other notable monasteries include Žiča Monastery, Banjska Monastery, Mileševa Monastery, Gradac Monastery, Morača Monastery, Monastery of the Holy Archangels, Matejče Monastery, Church of St. Achillius and many others.
Later, with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, one group of Serbs converted to Islam. Their modern descendants are considered to be members of the Gorani and Bosniak ethnic groups. The Serbian Orthodox Church was the westernmost bastion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Europe, which shaped its historical fate through contacts with Catholicism and Islam.
During World War II the Serbs, who lived in a wide area, were persecuted by various peoples and organisations. Catholic Croats within the Independent State of Croatia recognised the Serbs only as "Croats of the Eastern Greek faith". They held the ideological view that one third of the Serbs were to be murdered, one third were to be converted and the last third expelled. This view led to the deaths of at least 700,000 people, the religious conversion of 250,000 as well as mass expulsion.
According to the 2011 Serbian census, 6,079,396 people (84.6%) identified themselves as Christian Orthodox, five per cent Roman Catholic, three per cent Muslim and one per cent Protestant.
Names
Given names As with most Western cultures, a child is given a first name chosen by their parents but approved by the child's godparents who usually approve their choice). The given name comes first, the surname last, e.g. "Željko Popović", where "Željko" is a first name and "Popović" is a family name. Female names typically end with -a or -ica.
Popular names are mostly of Serbian (Slavic), Christian (Biblical), Greek and Latin origin. Some examples are: Serbian: Dragana, Dušan, Milan, Milica, Miloš, Nemanja, Uroš, Vuk Greek: Aleksandar, Anastasija, Anđela, Đorđe, Jelena, Katarina, Nikola, Stefan Biblical: Ana, Lazar, Luka, Jovan or Ivan, Marija, Marko, Matija, Mihajlo, Pavle, Petar Latin: Antonije, Roman, Srđan, Valentina
Surnames Most Serbian surnames (like Bosnian, Croatian and Montenegrin) have the surname suffix -ić (pronounced , Cyrillic: -ић). This is often transliterated as -ic or -ici. In history, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to, for historical reasons, as Milutin Milankovitch.
The -ić suffix, with variants "-ović"/"-ević", is originally a Slavic diminutive and its meaning has been extended to create patronymics. Thus the surname Petr(ov)ić signifies "little Petar", as does, for example, "-sen"/"-son" in Scandinavian and to a lesser extent German and English names or a common prefix Mac ("son of") in Scottish and Irish, and O' (grandson of) in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić but that some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname with many common names being spread out among tens and even hundreds of non-related extended families.
Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Those are more typical for Serbs from Vojvodina. The two suffixes are often combined. The most common surnames are Marković, Nikolić, Petrović, and Jovanović.
Cuisine
Most people in Serbia have three meals daily, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with lunch being the largest and most important meal. However, people traditionally ate only lunch and dinner, with breakfast being introduced in the second half of the 19th century.
Background Traditional Serbian cuisine is varied and can be said to be a mix of European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare. Ćevapi consisting of grilled heavily seasoned mixed ground meat patties is considered the national dish. Other notable dishes include koljivo used in religious rituals, Serbian salad, sarma (stuffed wineleaf), pilav (pilaf, a Middle eastern meal similar to rizzoto), moussaka and bean soup (prebranac). Česnica is a traditional bread for Christmas Day.
Homemade meals A number of foods which are easily available in Western supermarkets, are often made at home in Serbia. These include rakija (fruit brandy), slatko, jam, jelly, and pickled foods (notably sauerkraut, ajvar and sausage). There can be economic or cultural reasons behind these food choices. Food preparation is a strong part of the Serbian family tradition.
Desserts Serbian desserts are a mixture of other Balkan desserts and desserts native to central Serbia. The desserts that are usually served include uštipci, tulumbe, krofne and palačinke (crepes). Slatko is a traditional Serbian dessert popular throughout Serbia and it can be found in most Serbian restaurants in the Balkans and in the diaspora.
Drinks Beer is widely consumed in Serbia. The most popular brands are Jelen Pivo and Lav Pivo. Rakija, a type of fruit brandy is also widespread, with the plum rakija (šljivovica, symbol of Šumadija), and grape rakija (loza, southern Serbia). This is Serbia's national drink and is common in other Mediterranean countries. Domestic wine is also popular. Turkish coffee (called domaća or srpska kafa) is widely consumed as well.
Language
Serbs speak the Serbian language, one of the South Slavic group of languages, specifically in the Southwestern Slavic subgroup together with other Serbo-Croatian varieties and Slovenian. It is mutually intelligible with the Croatian and Bosnian languages (see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) and most linguists consider it one of the standard varieties of the common Serbo-Croatian language.
The Serbian language comprises several dialects, the standard language is based on the Stokavian dialect.
It is an official language in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. In Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, North Macedonia and Romania, it is a regionally recognised minority language.
There are also historical variants of the Serbian language, namely Old Serbian and Slavonic-Serbian, a blend of Church Slavonic, Russian and Serbian.
Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. Cyrillic has its origins in the Cyril and Methodius transformation from the Greek script. The Latin alphabet used for Serbian is Ljudevit Gaj's version shared by all Southwestern Slavic languages.
Loanwords in the Serbian language are mostly from Turkish, German and Italian; words of Hungarian origin are present mostly in the north and Greek words mostly in the liturgy.
Two Serbian words that are used in many of the world's languages are vampire and paprika. Slivovitz and ćevapčići are Serbian words which have spread together with the Serbian food/drink they refer to. Vampire entered most West European languages through German-language texts in the early 18th century and has since spread around the world.
Literature
Most Medieval literature was about religious themes. Various gospels, psalters, menologies, hagiographies, and essays and sermons of the founders of the Serbian Orthodox Church were written. At the end of the 12th century, two of the most important pieces of Serbian medieval literature were created—the Miroslav Gospels (UNESCO's Memory of the World) and the Vukan Gospels, which combined handwritten Biblical texts with painted initials and small pictures. Serbian epic poetry was a central part of medieval Serbian literature based on historic events such as the Battle of Kosovo.
Notable Baroque authors include Andrija Zmajević, Gavril Stefanović Venclović, Jovan Rajić and Zaharije Orfelin. Dositej Obradović is the most prominent literary figure of the Age of Enlightenment, while the most notable Classicist writer is Jovan Sterija Popović, although his works also contain elements of Romanticism. Modern Serbian literature began with Vuk Karadžić's collections of folk songs in the 19th century, and the writings of Njegoš and Branko Radičević. The first prominent representative of Serbian literature in the 20th century is Jovan Skerlić, who wrote in pre–World War I Belgrade and helped to introduce Serbian writers to literary modernism.