All Saints Day

November 1st is all Saints Day.

"All Saints' Day was originally a commemoration of the martyrs of the ancient church -- the men, women, and children who were persecuted and killed for their faith in Christ. It has since become a festival on which the church remembers all the Christian faithful, both known and unknown God declares everyone who has been baptized and believes the promise of the gospel to be justified, holy, and blameless. The communion of saints therefore includes both those still living on earth and those who have died in the faith and are now living in heaven."

This day is celebrated differently throughout the world. In Croatia it is a National Holiday. It is a tradition to spend the days prior to All Saint's Day cleaning, repairing and repainting the graves. The day prior to and the day are spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives where prayers are said, flowers laid and candles lit.

All Saint's Day in Varaždin:

Prior to All Saint's Day:
The flower shops stocked more flowers and flower arrangements. You could buy everything from fake flowers and fake flower arrangements, to single fresh cut flowers, potted plants, and simple arrangements, to elaborate arrangements. The prices reflected the complexity of the arrangements, ranging anywhere from a few Kuna to thousands of Kuna. There were some very beautiful displays. Stalls were set up to sell candles. They come in an assortment of size, design, colour, and shape. As the day drew closer the streets became more crowded as people searched for the perfect flowers and candles. On Thursday evening I went with my host parents to pick out flowers and candles for their relative's graves. On Friday afternoon my host parents went and cleaned the graves and placed the flowers.

All Saint's Day:
Saturday (Nov 1st) morning I went with my host parents to lay candles on their relative's graves. Later that day, once it was dark we went back. The graveyard was aglow with thousands of candles. Upon the graves lay candles and flowers, creating a spectacular scene. We walked throughout the graveyard for an hour. It was magnificent.

Here are some Pictures from my visit to the graveyard in the evening of All Saint's Day.

You visit the graves to light candles and say a prayer. If there is no grave to visit, (relatives buried elsewhere in the world) you light a candle and place it around the cross. It was a very stunning sight. As sea of candles surrounding the cross.

The cross again.

A close up of the candles. My host mom gave me a candle to add to the display.

The candles covered an extensive area. The cross is located in the middle of a four way crossway and there was only a narrow path left to walk around.

One of the pathways. The groupings of candles are on the graves.

Looking down the pathway.

Here are some pictures of the flowers and candles on the graves. They are all really magnificent.

This is a memorial to the lives lost during Croatia's war of Independence.

Handball

On Saturday the 25th my friend Morena invited me to watch her team play Handball. I had never seen a whole game played before. (Just short clips of games on TV) I found the game really exciting to watch. Morena's team (the orange team) won 33 to 23.


Handball is a very poplular game here in Croatia. In fact the Men's World Handball Championships are being held in Varaždin in 2009.


I relate Handball with Soccer and Basketball; it's like a combination of both.


Here are some pictures from the game as well as information on Handball:


Handball is a team sport composed of two teams, each with six players and a goalkeeper. Two referees watch over the game. The object of the game is to pass and bounce the ball and throw it into the opposing teams' goal. After 30 minutes the team with the most goals wins.


It is a fast paced game with lots of body contact as the defenders try to stop the attackers from reaching the goal. You are only allowed to make contact if you (the defender) is completely in front of the offensive player. (Contact from the side of back is considered dangerous and if it occurs penalties usually follow) If a defender successfully stops an attacking player, the play is stopped, then restated by the attacking team from the spot the play had been stopped. In Handball you can commit unlimited number of faults as they are considered a good defence that disrupts the attacking teams' rhythm.



The players can touch the ball with any part of their bodies above the knee. When a player is in possession of the ball they may stand stationary for only three seconds and may only take three steps. Once these are used they must shoot, pass or dribble the ball. If you take more then three steps you are called for travelling and the ball is turned over to the other team. Players can dribble as many times as they like but passing is faster and preferred. After dribbling, the player can have three more stationary seconds or three steps. The ball must be passed or shot because if the player continues to hold the ball or dribble the player will be called for double dribbling.


The goalkeeper can move freely within the goal perimeter but they can't cross the goal perimeter line while carrying or dribbling the ball. While in the goal zone the goalkeeper can touch the ball with any part of their body, including his or her feet.


The game starts with a throw off at the center of the court. The thrower must touch the middle line with one foot while the rest of the team is on their side of the court. The defending players must keep at least 3 meters away from the thrower.


Handball has throw-ins, (if the ball full crosses the side line or touches the ceiling) goalkeeper-throws, and free-throws, (like a free kick in soccer) and a 7-meter throw.


Referees can give a warning yellow card for an illegal action but if the contact was particularly dangerous the referee can forgo the warning for an immediate two minute suspension. A player can only get two warnings before receiving a two minute suspension. One player is only permitted three 2 minute suspensions before getting a red card. Red cards can be given out directly for particularly rough penalties.


Substitutions occur at the half and the play isn't stopped to do so. It can happen as many times as you want during the game.

Vinica - Arboretum "Opeka"

On Thursday (23rd) after school my friend Iva picked me up. On our way out of town Andrijana and Tena joined us. We drove for thirty minutes to the town of Vinica where we visited the Arboretum "Opeka."

The Opeka castle was built in the 18th century by the Draskovic family on lands that they had owned for centuries. When Count Marko Bombelles came into possession of the castle in 1852 he brought many plants from all parts of the world and formed an arboretum in the large park surrounding the castle.

The most precious trees in the park come from Tibet, China, Japan, Caucasus, North America, and Europe. There are about 14000 specimens of about 200 plant varieties in the arboretum.

We walked throughout the park and visited the Castle.

The front of the Baroque style castle. There has been no upkeep to the castle so it is in ruins today.

The front corner of the Castle.

Inside the main courtyard. Even though the place wasn't in good condition it was still interesting to look around.

An old well in the center of the courtyard.

Iva and her dog Armon leading the way.

Overgrown courtyard walls.

The side of the castle

Ivy covered archways.

Looking back at the castle

Grave stone for Bombelles' horse Spitz.

The old bridge across the pond

The old swimming pool. You can see the variety of trees in the background.

Me, Iva, Tena and Iva's dog Armon.

Large grouping of trees

Inside the large grouping of trees.

There were old benches located throughout the property.

After leaving Vinica we drove on some back roads to this river. The right bank is Croatian land and the left bank is Slovenian land.

Left is Croatia, right is Slovenia

Looking down the river.