Croatian invention celebrated as World Cravat Day is marked today
- by croatiaweek
- in News
18 October is World Cravat Day (Photo: Dhar Media)
ZAGREB, 18 October 2023 – One of the many Croatian inventions has its official day today on 18 October with the marking of World Cravat Day.
The forerunner to the modern necktie was the Croatian invention the ‘Cravat’.
The tie was first used as an item of clothing by Croatian soldiers back in the 17th century with the oldest Croatian portrait of a person wearing a cravat painted in Dubrovnik in 1622 depicting the great Croatian poet Ivan Gundulić with a scarf tied around his neck like a cravat.
The word cravat derives from the French cravate, a twisted French pronunciation of Croate. The Cravat is a Croatian symbol known and recognised worldwide and the 18th of October was declared World Cravat Day by Academia Cravatica back in 2008.
The oldest Croatian portrait of a person wearing a cravat – poet Ivan Gundulic (Public Domain/CC)
“The cravat is a universal symbol of elegance and the culture of dressing, but it’s powerful symbolic potential contains many other values. The vertical cravat symbolises the human vertical – human dignity and self-awareness, moments of solemnity and ceremony, success and a business spirit… With its lightness on the one hand and the knot on the other, the cravat “binds” together freedom and responsibility. It encourages us to be more aware of the communication of our dignity and the dignity of others – our freedom, but also our responsibility. Due to its enormous symbolic power, the cravat is of great significance for Croatia and the world,” Marijan Bušić from Academia Cravatica association said.
(Photo: Mate Paškanović Pavković)
A changing of the guard is set to take place on Zagreb’s Ban Josip Jelačić Square to mark Cravat Day.
(Photo: Mate Paškanović Pavković)
Cravats will also be placed around the necks of statues around the country to mark today’s occasion.
(Photo: Mate Paškanović Pavković)
(Photo: Mate Paškanović Pavković)
