All over the world each country, city and region has its own culture and customs.
After the Ottoman Empire left Bosnia and Herzegovina, then came the Austro-Hungarian authorities and culture. Today, this country shows many signs of its nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule and the remains of Western culture brought by the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Thousands of tourists and visitors from around the world visit Mostar every day. Many of them are surprised when they see the obituaries on bulletin boards around town because in other countries, the custom is different. Obituaries can only be found in the newspapers.
There a few main characteristics that every obituary in Bosnia and Herzegovina contains:
information on the identity of the deceased; photography by choice due to accurate identification; date and cause of death; place and time of the funeral; and possibly data about the religious ceremony and signed family members.
Obituaries can come in different colors and each color carries its own meaning.
Muslims have green obituaries and the religious element, decorative sign Crescent.
In the Catholic and Orthodox faith, black is a sign of mourning for the dead, which is reflected in the obituaries.
Catholics have black obituaries with the religious sign of the cross. Members of the Orthodox faith have blue or black obituaries with double cross sign.
Jewish people have black obituaries with a sign Star of David and those who are considered to be an atheist, usually have a bay leaf on the death certificate.
Young and unmarried people have blue obituaries while the Communists have red ones with a sign of five-pointed star.
Mostar is the city of bridges, light and youth. People from Mostar have a special mentality and way of thinking.
If you missed it, read our article – What it means to be a Mostarac? How to describe the lifestyle of people from Mostar?
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