Day Of Gorans
The Day of Gorans is a holiday observed on May 6th in the Republic of Kosovo. Also known as Gorani Day, this holiday is a day of celebration for the Gorani people and gives them an opportunity to see and meet with one another.
Kosovo (Observance)Although this holiday originally had religious connotations and was associated with St. George, that connotation has somehow become lost. Now it’s a day for people to dance the Kolo dance while tupans (drums) and kaval (wind instruments) are played. It’s also a day to serve food and spend time with friends and family members.
Facts About The Gorani People
We thought that we’d bring a little bit of context to this holiday by talking a little bit about the Gorani people. The Gorani community is a Slavic Muslim ethnic group that’s originally from the Gora region of the mountainous area formed by Kosovo, Macedonia, and Albania.
The largest of the three groups is the Kosovo group—a region that has an estimated 11,000 Gorani in Dragash and some other surrounding villages. However, there are many more Gorani in the diaspora due to the mass migrations during much of the 20th century.
The Day Of Gorans Celebrations
This holiday is celebrated with singing, dancing, and food. There are also fairground rides and other Gorani Day celebrations in places with large Gorani populations. On social media, the hashtag #DayOfGorans or #GoraniDay is used to spread the word about this holiday. Women used to wear traditional Gorani dresses on this day, but that custom has begun to change over the last few years, and more people are wearing modern clothing for this holiday.
Kosovo (Observance)
