Сремачке прославе Јулских свечаности 1945–1989.
Celebrations of the July festivities in Srem 1945–1989.

Author(s): Bojan Arbutina
Subject(s): Cultural history, History of Communism
Published by: Етнографски институт САНУ
Keywords: Socialist Yugoslavia; Socialist holidays; public manifestations; Day of the Uprising of the People of Serbia; Day of the Fighters; July festivities; Srem; People’s Liberation War and Revolution
Summary/Abstract: The organization of public manifestations dedicated to holidays and celebrations of Socialist Yugoslavia was a recognizable symbol of Yugoslav society. Holidays in Socialist Yugoslavia were mostly dedicated to events from the Second World War and celebrated important dates from the history of the People’s Liberation Struggle and revolution. Among the most important holidays were the Day of the Uprising of the People of Serbia and the Day of the Fighters. The aforementioned holidays were celebrated on 4th and 7th July and are hence remembered in the public consciousness as the ‘July festivities’. Organization of the celebrations gave the authorities space for propaganda activities, which was used by the authorities of Socialist Yugoslavia for implementation of their own ideological convictions and construction of socially desirable narratives. The July festivities were a playground used to mould the collective consciousness of those present regarding the events of the Second World War, but also a forum in which the positions and guidance of the political leadership of Socialist Yugoslavia regarding contemporary developments in Yugoslavia and the world could be transmitted by the most prominent socio-political activists of the time. The location of the festivities, the speakers, speeches, as well as the cultural, sporting and musical programs offer answers to the question of what role the public manifestations had in shaping a socially acceptable collective consciousness of the Yugoslav people - in our case, what was the role of the celebration of the July festivities in forming the collective consciousness of the citizens of Srem?

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