HAPPY ARMISTICE DAY!

Armistice Day, which has been observed as a non-working holiday in Serbia since 2012, was established as a mark of remembrance of 11 November 1918, when, in France, in the special railway carriage of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, at 11 o’clock, the armistice of the First World War was signed – an armistice that remained in force until the conclusion of the final peace agreement in Versailles on 28 June 1919.

The main motif for the emblem of this holiday is two green ribbons, evoking the sash of the famous Albanian Commemorative Medal, and the purple five-petalled flower “Natalie’s Ramonda”. This is an endangered and rare species that lives only in the area of the Central Balkans, in Serbia, Macedonia and northern Greece.

It was named in honour of Queen Natalija, and is also called the “phoenix flower” because of its remarkable ability to come back to life after having completely dried out – it only needs to be watered.