A small piece of land, which can be called a state with a big stretch because of its dwarf size, nevertheless, has been attracting the most different people from all over the world. The rich and famous are acquiring fabulously expensive real estate here, and tourists come from different corners planets to enjoy the beauties of the principality. Knowing the traditions will help us understand why this place is so popular and is always associated with luxury, big money and a fabulous atmosphere.
Monegasques - who are they?The culture and traditions of Monaco require careful study, because you can understand the mentality of the locals of any country only by comprehending national characteristics.
So, indigenous people Monaco is called Monegasque. They enjoy many privileges: they do not have to pay taxes, and only they have the right to live in the old city. Of the 35,000 people living in the principality, approximately 40 percent are Monegasques.
Family comes first
special relationship with family and family values the inhabitants of Monaco carried it out of the depths of centuries. Celebrating outside the home, leaving the family alone is an unthinkable thing. Here it is customary to gather at a large table all together, especially in the main religious celebrations. Therefore, even those family members who live in remote corners of the globe give up all their business and certainly come to their father's house for Easter and Christmas. By the way, one old tradition is associated with Christmas: on the eve of the holiday, the oldest member of the family dips an olive tree branch into wine. This symbolic gesture means a wish for well-being and peace.
Monegasque Roulette
The most famous in the world is located in Monaco and is almost its main one. It has been operating since 1863, and was created with very rational goals: by that time, the principality was fragmented, and the income from the casino was supposed to help the princely family avoid bankruptcy. The calculations were fully justified, and the casino glorified Monaco to the whole world.
For more than a century of history, many legends and rumors have appeared around the casino. Here they won and lost a lot of money, taking their own lives after a fateful loss.
According to the tradition of Monaco, it is forbidden to play in the casino for local residents. To visit the casino and try your luck, you must have a foreign citizen's passport.
A dwarf European state, which anyone can cross on foot in just an hour, Monaco, however, is one of cultural centers Old World and the object of desire for many travelers. The Principality is famous, first of all, for its casino in Monte Carlo and the regular Formula 1 race stage held here. For those who cannot imagine their vacation without getting to know the customs and life of the locals, the traditions of Monaco may seem quite entertaining.
Who are Monegasques?
In the dwarf state, only about 35 thousand people are "listed" as living. Most of them are Monegasques. So the citizens of the principality are officially called and only they are allowed to settle in the old city. Monegasques are exempt from paying taxes, and obtaining citizenship here is not only difficult, but very difficult.
The traditions of Monaco regarding the family have long roots. It is customary to spend the main religious holidays in the principality together, and therefore even family members living in other parts of the world will certainly fly to Monaco for Christmas or Easter.
One of the old traditions of Monaco is the ritual of the olive branch and wine. On Christmas Eve, the head of the family dips an olive tree branch into wine and makes the sign of the cross with it over a kindled fireplace. The ceremony symbolizes the wish of peace and prosperity to the house and its inhabitants.
The splendor and poverty of Monte Carlo
One of the districts of Monaco is called Monte Carlo and it is here that the most famous casino in the world is located. Traditionally, in Monaco, you need to play roulette to try to catch your luck by the tail.
The Monte Carlo Casino opened in 1863. It was assumed that the income from the gambling business would save the princely family from bankruptcy. Financial losses families at that time were too tangible, due to the fragmentation of the principality.
Since then, thousands of players have broken the bank in this luxurious mansion, but many more have lost fortunes, gone bankrupt and even committed suicide on a nearby pier. There is a legend that the casino doorman always keeps a coin in his pocket to give the loser the opportunity to call a taxi to the hotel.
Interestingly, according to the tradition of Monaco, citizens of this country are not allowed to enter the gaming rooms of the casino, so you need to have a foreign passport with you to visit it.
There are many amazing places in the world, a trip through which can leave a truly unforgettable experience. One of these amazing and unlike other countries is Monaco, a small principality located in the south of the European continent. Despite its truly miniature size, the Principality, like all other states, is famous for its approach to the economy, its cuisine and its unique traditions.
Monaco is a monarchical state, located a little apart from the rest of Europe, in the foothills of the Alps. All this served to ensure that despite the high development of the economy, education and science, as well as the proximity and influence of other, stronger neighboring states, this microscopic country managed to maintain its unique culture and originality.
Religion plays a fundamental role in the culture of Monaco. According to the basic law of the country, the practice of absolutely any religion is allowed in the principality, even its own mosque and synagogue have been built. And yet the main religion in Monaco is Christianity, namely Catholicism, the country even has its own bishop and the church of Monaco is isolated from other Christian dioceses. It is with religion that most of the holidays and traditions of Monaco are associated - many Christian holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, the Transfiguration of the Lord and others, are public holidays in the principality, along with such an important holiday for the country as the Day of the Prince of Monaco. Moreover, it is customary to celebrate religious holidays with the whole family, so they served as the basis for the emergence of another tradition - family celebrations that unite all its members, no matter how far they live from their native land. At Christmas or Easter, everyone is sure to come home to Monaco to spend this important holiday in home the whole family.
The principle and traditions of nepotism in Monaco went even deeper and became another unusual traditional feature principalities throughout the country. The fact is that about 35 thousand people permanently live in Monaco, and only a seventh of them are citizens of Monaco, otherwise they are called Monegasques. Obtaining Monaco citizenship is incredibly difficult, but it itself provides a number of privileges. So, only citizens of Monaco have the right to live in the Old Town, where the prince's palace is located and there is not a single tourist hotel, only true citizens of Monaco do not pay taxes to the state treasury; this fact does not harm its economy in the least, because a large line of the budget is income from tourism activities, as well as taxes levied on those who live and work in Monaco, while not having citizenship. Finally, the citizens of Monaco are traditionally forbidden to play in the Casino, the main attraction of Monaco. Therefore, the entrance to the casino is possible only if there is a document confirming that a person belongs to another state.
There are several other traditions of Monaco associated with the Casino, which cannot be ignored, because many people go to this country just for the opportunity to visit the oldest casino in the world. According to tradition, everyone who comes to the principality is simply obliged to play roulette in the Monte Carlo casino, this attracts good luck and financial success. That is why many aspiring businessmen come to Monaco to play on their first income from a new business and secure good luck in their new endeavor.
For more than seven centuries, Monaco has developed its own traditions, which are observed every year by Monegasque families. Most of them are associated with religious holidays and are revered by the inhabitants of the principality. These traditions include the celebration of Christmas.
Christmas Eve in Monaco is the time when all family members get together. Today, fate often scatters us to different cities and even countries. Christmas becomes an excellent occasion to unite the whole family, even if not for long, to feel the warmth of relatives and friends. In Monaco, at Christmas, a rite is held that has never been violated in any family - this is the rite of the olive branch. It consists in the fact that one of the guests, the youngest or, conversely, the oldest, takes an olive branch and dips it in a glass of wine. With this olive branch, the guest approaches the lit fireplace and performs a prayer and the sign of the cross in front of it. After that, all the guests take a sip of wine and sit down to festive table filled with traditional dishes.
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The Christmas table of the Monegasques is refined and generous at the same time. Invariable dishes are turkey and goose liver, and the favorite entertainment of the evening is draws and all kinds of lotteries. Round bread is also placed on the table at Christmas, on which four to seven nuts and an olive branch are laid in the form of a cross. The special Christmas bread Pain de Natale is blessed in the temple. This ancient custom is now being revived by the Committee of Traditions of Monaco, collaborating with the bakeries of the Principality, where you can buy festive pastries a few days before Christmas. By tradition, the bread is consecrated during Mass on Christmas Eve.
@pixabay Thirteen Desserts
Another interesting Christmas custom is thirteen desserts. Every year, in honor of Jesus Christ and his apostles, exactly thirteen sweets are served on the table. Among them, there are necessarily four “beggars”, which symbolize various Catholic orders that have taken a vow of poverty: hazelnuts or walnuts (the symbol of the Augustins), dried figs (the symbol of the Franciscans), almonds (the symbol of the Carmelites), raisins (the symbol of the Dominicans). However, the main dessert is a flour cake - La Pompe. According to the canons, it is not customary to cut this cake with a knife, it should be broken, just as Christ broke bread, otherwise ruin may await next year.
In addition, chocolate, white and black nougat with hazelnuts, pine nuts and pistachios are put on the table to the delight of children. This tradition is also popular in Provence. The writer Marie Gasquet in her novel A Childhood in Provence describes the completion of the Christmas dinner as follows: “We need thirteen desserts, thirteen plates of sweets, twelve with the fruits of fields and gardens, and the thirteenth, the most beautiful, filled to the brim with dates.”
@pixabay Photo: Monte-Carlo SBM/Cheesepear/asmonaco/Deposit photos
Story Monaco is largely family history Grimaldi which is the owner of these lands. In 1918, an agreement was concluded between Monaco and France, according to which, after the complete disappearance of the Grimaldi dynasty, Monaco would become an autonomous region of France.
The modern territory of Monaco has been inhabited since the Stone Age. According to legend, during the Roman era, a young Corsican named Devot, her body was placed in a boat and sent to Africa. The boat went off course and ran aground off the coast of Monaco, where the state was founded in honor of this girl.
The first large-scale construction here began during the Genoese dynasty. Ghibellines who ruled Monaco in the 13th century. But on January 8, 1297, the first representative of the Grimaldi clan sneaked into the Ghibelline fortress, attacking them from the rear, and thereby ensured a carefree life for their descendants over the next 700 years.
In 1489 the French king Charles VIII recognized the independence of Monaco. Despite some dominance of Spain over Monaco from 1524 to 1641, France and Monaco have always been good neighbors, although they existed apart from each other. Nevertheless, the possessiveness of France took over, and in 1793, during the new revolutionary regime, the lands of Monaco were annexed. In 1861, the independence of Monaco was restored, and disputes in recent decades have been limited only to issues in the field of tax legislation - Monaco refuses to tax French citizens and French companies located on its territory.
The modern history of Monaco is inextricably linked with its present ruler. Born in 1923 Prince Rainier III ascended the throne in 1949. His fabulous marriage to a movie star Kelly Grace in 1956 it became "icing on a piece of cake", which further enhanced the glamorous image of Monaco. When The Royal Family Consisting of long-legged models and stunningly beautiful screen stars, all issues of democracy seem somewhat boring. However, the prince has enormous executive power, which elevates him to a higher rank than just a nominal head of state.
Since the residents of Monaco are exempt from paying income tax, the principality is something of a "tax haven" for the private capital of the elite of the world community. The anonymity of bank deposits is strictly protected. Famous faces of sports and cinema, constantly visiting expensive shops and driving around in luxury cars, know that their money is safe in Monaco. At the same time, since 1993, the Principality has been a full-fledged UN member.
Tourism in all its manifestations, from day trips to visiting the country by various delegations, is the backbone of the economy and, together with the banking sector, forms the basis of the country's budget.
Various measures are being taken to modernize Monaco, for example, in mid-2002, an impressive floating berth was built here, which made it possible to double the capacity of the port. In the same year, laws were passed guaranteeing the power of the Grimaldi family in the country, even if Crown Prince Albert did not leave behind a successor.
It can be assumed, that culture Monaco is always new beautiful clothes, martinis and food without cutlery. However, there are many cultural institutions, most of which appeared in the 17th century under the auspices of Prince Honor III, including Philharmonic of Monte-Carlo, Ballet of Monet-Carlo, opera and several theatres.
If we discard all the "impeccable cosmetics" of Monaco, one can find the remains of a very religious and spiritual culture. The legend of Devot, patron saint and founder of Monaco, is a cherished part of the country's heritage. Every year on January 27 at the church St. Devot a service is held in her honor. Monaco also venerates saints such as St. Roman(Martyred Roman legionnaire) and St. John.