International Necktie Day October 18th - Leads to Exploration of -Croatia?

Today, October 18th International Necktie Day is celebrated in Croatia and in various cities around the world, e.g. in Dublin, 'Tübingen, Como, Tokyo, Sydney and other towns! Okay! Now the first question I asked was why? Why is Necktie Day celebrated in Croatia??? I went to Wikipedia and discovered why, and I will tell you in a minute, but first let's find out about Croatia..... 

  From the map one can see that Croatia is located south of  Slovenia, and Hungary, east of  Serbia , north of Bosnia and Herzegovina.,with the Adriatic Sea along its southwest border. More from Wikipedia.....

....officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska About this sound listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with the twenty counties. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism. The service sector dominates Croatia's economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue during the summer, with Croatia ranked the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world. The state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The European Union is Croatia's most important trading partner. Since 2000, the Croatian government has invested in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors. Internal sources produce a significant portion of energy in Croatia; the rest is imported. Croatia provides a universal health care system and free primary and secondary education, while supporting culture through numerous public institutions and through corporate investments in media and publishing. Because of its geographic position, Croatia represents a blend of four different cultural spheres. It has been a crossroad of influences of the western culture and the east—ever since division of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire—as well as of the Mitteleuropa and the Mediterranean culture.[200] The Illyrian movement was the most significant period of national cultural history, as the 19th-century period proved crucial in emancipation of the Croatian language and saw unprecedented developments in all fields of art and culture, giving rise to a number of historical figures More about Croatia

A Croatian soldier with a cravat

  Oh, and I also counted 23 or so Progressive Rock bands from Croatia listed at ProgArchives!! I downloaded an album from one of the bands Don't Mess with Texas", alright then!! Now why Necktie Day in Croatia?? From Wikipedia.....

The modern necktie spread by Europe traces back to the time of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) when Croatian mercenaries from the Croatian Military Frontier in French service, wearing their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs, aroused the interest of the Parisians. Due to the slight difference between the Croatian word for Croats, Hrvati, and the French word, Croates, the garment gained the name "cravat" ("cravate" in French).[2] The boy-king Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat about 1646, when he was seven, and set the fashion for French nobility. This new article of clothing started a fashion craze in Europe; both men and women wore pieces of fabric around their necks. From its introduction by the French king, men wore lace cravats, or jabots, that took a large amount of time and effort to arrange. These cravats were often tied in place by cravat strings, arranged neatly and tied in a bow. Read More

Now we know!! Have a great Saturday!