Thursday, December 18, 2008

Croatian Christmas traditions

Croatians in Australia like to carry on their traditions once they arrived in Austalia. Some of the websites recording some of the Croatian Christmas traditions can be found in the following websites

Croatian tradional Christmas songs
Christmas in Croatia
Croatian Christmas tradions by James Monti published in The Magnificat Advent 2006

Planting of wheat on feast day of St. Lucy

On the 13th of December which is St. Lucy's feast day many Croatian mothers plant wheat grains in a round dish or plate of soil The seeds germinate and the shoots are several inches high by Christmas. Then the new green shoots, may be tied with a ribbon, if desired, and a candle may be placed near them as a symbol of the Light of Christ. The sprouted wheat is placed near the Nativity set where it will remind all that Christ, the Bread of Life, was born in Bethlehem.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Celebrating the feast day of Saint Nicholas (Sveti Nikola)

Saint Nicholas (Sveti Nikola) has his feast day on the 6th of December. As youngsters I recall being taken by dad, mum brothers and sister to the Croatian Club or park nearby (Hollywood Park) in Landsvale, Sydney where there would be lots of entertainment for the children, a barbecue and music. The highlight was the handing out of presents by Saint Nicholas and having your photo taken with him. Lots of fun and laughter eventuated as the children opened up their presents. A fun day had by all.

Do you have any childhood recollections of celebrating Christmas in Australia within the Croatian community?
Please leave your comments below

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Croatian connection to the Coat of Arms of Australia

Troyano Darveniza (Drvenica)was born in Trnovica near Dubrovnik. In 1871 he registered his winery under the name Excelsior Vineyards. The logo which appeared on all his wine bottles included the kangaroo and the emu.

The other colonies tried to copy the design but they ran into copyright infringements. In 1901, the Federal Commonwealth government of Australia wanted to use the distinct design features. After some discussion, Mr Darveniza allow free use of the design. And in 1912, the current Commonwealth Coat of Arms warrant was granted by George V on September 19. The trademark is still in use today for the Darveniza’s family long running vineyard in Mooroopna.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Mission statement in Croatian

Hrvatski arhiv Australija Inc. uspostavljen je kao ustanova koja će voditi brigu i pokušati sačuvati za trajnu uspomenu pokoljenjima koja će doći važne dokumente iz naše prošle povijesti, iz života Hrvata Australije, i to na jednom mjestu, što bi onda olakšalo svima zainteresiranim osobama lakše studiranje, istraživanje i pisanje djelotvorne povijesti Hrvata Australije.

Iako je Arhiv osnovan u Sydneyu, to ne znači da se sakuplja samo gradivo ovoga područja, već i sve ono što je vrijedno i potrebno sačuvati bez obzira gdje se dogodilo.

Što su pokušava sačuvati?

  1. Pisano i objavljeno blago o Hrvatima, drugim riječima povijesne Rezolucije društava i ustanova, društveni proglasi i važne obavijesti iz zajednice.
  2. Važan izrezak iz australskih (ili hrvatskih novina) koji je povijesno važan, ne samo u vrijeme kada se to dogodilo, već i sada i za povijest budućnosti.
  3. Izrađeni povijesni predmeti (izvorni-.originalni) kao razne čestitke i ostali promidžbeni predmeti, što treba sačuvati.
  4. Društvena značke, iskaznice, manji ornamenti koji podsjećaju na aktivnosti hrvatske zajednice Australije. Diplome Hrvatskih etničkih škola.
  5. Slike Hrvatskih domova, crkvenih ustanova, i športskih ustanova.
  6. Kako su pojedina društva izdala svoje spomen knjige, to bi bilo poželjno da jedna takva knjiga završi u Hrvatskom arhivu Australije.

Evo štovani, to je jedan dio naše aktivnosti. Sada želimo preći na onaj drugi. Zahvaljujući Hrvatskom društvu Sydney osigurana je prostorija za nesmetano djelovanje Hrvatskog arhiva. Zahvaljujući drugim dobročiniteljima, uspjeli smo nabaviti, kupiti najpotrebnije rekvizite za početak rada, računalo, namještaj u uredu, potrebne police, kutije za sačuvanje gradiva i drugo. No još nam je mnogo toga potrebno, već kako zatražuje državni ured gdje smo član, i koji nam služi za promidžbu među Australcima.

Ovim pismom se umoljavate ako bi nas mogli i novčano pomoći, u vašim granicama, a budite uvjereni da će vašom pomoći Hrvatski arhiv još uspješnije djelovati. Za sve ostale informacije obratiti se na naš naslov. Za slanje Vašeg priloga, naslovite ček, ili Money Order na: Croatian Archive Australia Inc.

Croatian Archive Association of Australia Committee

Croatian Archive Association of Australia project

This blog has been created as a precursor to an official website of the Croatian Archive Association of Australia