For anyone who does business with colleagues and clients in southeast Europe... are you finding that no one seems to be able to take on work in the next week or that no one is returning your calls or e-mails ?
There's a very good reason for this at the moment: it's holiday period in the Balkans and for many people there, the next week is practically a write-off .
There have been traffic jams leading out of the major cities of southeast Europe and border points will take up to an hour or more to cross as many head off to ancestral villages or to the coast to enjoy the long weekend or, for some, a whole week off.
Southeast Europe is in the middle of its spring holiday period. We now have May Day on 1 and 2 May, where in ex-Yugoslavia it's affectionately referred to as 'Majo'. While this day pre-1989 (in Albania, Bulgaria and Romania in particular) was associated with huge 'voluntary' parades organised by the communist authorities, May Day in southeast Europe is traditionally when people go out and have picnics in the fine spring weather. There's plenty of grilled meat, drinks (rakija anyone?) and loud music in what seems to be every green space available – parks, remote mountains, fields. Check out the picture below to give you an idea on what your typical May Day scene looks like in the Balkans.
To round off a whole string of spring-welcoming holidays, next Tuesday, 6 May, for Orthodox Christians in ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria is St George's Day (Djurdjevdan, Gergyovden, Gjurgjovden), whereas for Muslims it's Hidrellez . Seeing how common the name 'George' and its various Balkan forms (Đorđe/Djordje, Georgi/Gjorgji, Jura, etc.) are in these countries, everyone seems to know someone who has this as a name day. 6 May is also Bulgaria's Army Day, so occasionally there's a military parade to commemorate the day. 6 May is also one of the most important dates on the Roma calendar, who call it 'Ederlezi', and huge celebrations are held in Roma communities throughout the Balkans. The most famous song about St George's Day in the region, 'Djurdjevdan' by the Yugoslav rock group Bijelo Dugme fronted by Goran Bregović is actually a rework of the Romani folk song 'Ederlezi'.
So happy holidays to everyone in southeast Europe! You deserve it! 🎉
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