June 25 - Independence Day in Croatia

A lot changed in Croatia in the year 1991. On May 19, there was a referendum about whether or not to break away from Yugoslavia. (About 94% of the population voted Yes, let’s break away!). On May 30, the president announced the referendum results and declared Croatia independent. On June 25, the Croatian parliament formally joined it with its own declaration of independence. And on October 8, parliament cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia.

When Yugoslavia broke apart, Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia,
Montenegro, and North Macedonia formed.

Kosovo is only partially recognized.

To commemorate this series of events, May 30 is Croatia’s National Day, called (I gather) Statehood Day.

Some websites claim that, separately from the May holiday, either June 25 or October 8 (or possibly both?) is considered Independence Day. Whether or not these days are celebrated is hard to verify!

More about Croatia…

Croatia is the home of the cravat, or necktie.

This piece of clothing used to be part of the Croatian soldier’s uniform, and it was seen and copied all over Europe in the early 1600s. The French king Louis XIV loved the cravat and adopted the fashion, and it became so popular it was commonplace.

It’s interesting to note that “cravat” came from the French word for “Croat,” which means “a person from Croatia”! But the method of typing a cravat became so important – and so varied! – that the words “tie” and “necktie” began to be used more and more as time went on.