Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti i Dan hrvatskih branitelja

Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders () is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

that is celebrated annually on 5 August, commemorating the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

. On that date in 1995 the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

took the city of

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

during

Operation Storm Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...

, which effectively brought an end to the

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск� ...

proto-state A quasi-state (sometimes referred to as a state-like entity or formatively a proto-state) is a political entity that does not represent a fully autonomous sovereign state with its own institutions. The precise definition of ''quasi-state'' in po ...

. In 2008, the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

also assigned the name Day of Croatian Defenders () to the holiday, which honors the current service members and veterans of the

Armed Forces of Croatia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national Military, military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed ...

Celebrations

The main celebration is centered in Knin where there are festivities commemorating the event, beginning with a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and laying of wreaths in honour of those who died in the war, and continuing with parades and concerts. The event is attended by thousands, including the country's leading politicians. The Flag of Croatia on Knin Fortress is ceremonially raised as part of the celebrations.

2015 parade

A special

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

of the Armed Forces in honor of Victory Day was held on 4 August 2015 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Operation Storm. The parade was opened by the Honor Guard Battalion on the lawns of the

National and University Library National and University Library or National University Library may refer to: *Australian National University Library *National and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid", North Macedonia *National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina ...

, with three

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

's flying over the city. "

Lijepa naša domovino "" (; ) is the national anthem of Croatia. Often simply referred to as "" ('Our Beautiful') in Croatia, it is a phrase widely used as a metonym for the country. History The original lyrics were written by Antun Mihanović and first publishe ...

" was performed by the 12-year-old

Mia Negovetić Mia Negovetić (born 5 October 2002) is a Croatian singer-songwriter and voice actress. She is known for winning season one of RTL Televizija's ''Zvjezdice''. Career Negovetić auditioned for the first series of RTL Televizija's ''Zvjezdice'' i ...

, accompanied by the

Croatian Armed Forces Band The Croatian Armed Forces Band is a special military unit that performs military music for the ceremonial and national events involving the service personnel and veterans of the Croatian Armed Forces, as well as provide musical accompaniment for ...

and the

Croatian Navy The Croatian Navy (HRM; ) is the naval force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1991 from what Croatian forces managed to capture from the Yugoslav Navy during the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatian War of Independence. In ad ...

's vocal ensemble. It aroused great public interest considering that the last military parade in Croatia was organized in 1997. About 100,000 spectators attended the parade, additional sound systems wereity of Vukovar and Savska Streets.Krešimir Žabec, Rozita Vuković
"Foto: Hrvatska vojska i narod su jedno! Metropolom stupali vojnici, prolazili tenkovi, nebo parali MiG-ovi, građani im klicali"
''Jutarnji list'', 4. kolovoza 2015. The

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

of the Zagreb-based ''

Jutarnji list () is a Croatian daily newspaper based in Zagreb. It was published on 6 April 1998 by EPH (Europapress holding, owned by Ninoslav Pavić), which eventually changed its name in Hanza Media after being bought by Marijan Hanžeković. The newspap ...

'', gave a positive review of the parade, demanding the introduction of regular parades for Victory Day.Gordanka Jureško
Komentar Jutarnjeg. Mimohod treba postati obveza za sve buduće generacije. Možda bi zakonom trebalo obvezati vlast da postane tradicija
''Jutarnji list'', objavljeno: 5. kolovoza 2015. Military analyst Igor Tabak praised the event, while criticizing the inauthenticity of certain "historical units".Igor Tabak
"Što zapamtiti od mimohoda u Zagrebu?"
obris.org, 18. kolovoza 2015.

Silver jubilee

On the

silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

in 2020, the celebrations were attended for the first time ever by an ethnic

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

political representative,

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Boris Milošević Boris Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Борис Милошевић, ; born 5 November 1974) is a Croatian Serb lawyer and politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia between 2020 and 2022. He is a member of the Independent Democratic Serb ...

, a move which was applauded across the political spectrum, with

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven List of members of the European Parliament for Croatia, 201 ...

among others stating that it will "send a new message for Croatian society". On top of this, Plenković, as well as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Zoran Milanović Zoran Milanović (; born 30 October 1966) is a Croatia, Croatian politician and the incumbent president of Croatia. First elected in 2020, he was re-elected in 2025 with 74% voter support. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was the prime min ...

sent messages of peace to the people of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Opposition to the move from the Deputy Prime Minister came from members of the political

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

such as the

Homeland Movement ''Homeland Movement'' is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Yothu Yindi that was released in April 1989 on the Mushroom Records label. The album peaked at number 59 on the ARIA Chart in 1992. Background and release Following a to ...

and the

Croatian Defence Forces The Croatian Defence Forces ( or HOS) were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS organised several early compa ...

, as well as from politicians from Serbia and entity

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, ; also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or Serb Republic) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other bein ...

from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em Public holidays in Croatia August observances Homeland thanksgiving Croatian War of Independence Annual events in Croatia Summer in Croatia

Celebrations

2015 parade

Silver jubilee

See also

References