by Karlo, age 9, asks Ðed Mraz your name means Grandfather Frost. Are you like Ded Moroz?, about the Sava River, and Croatia’s Adriatic coastline
Dear Ðed Mraz,
My name is Karlo and I am 9 years old. I live in Zagreb, Croatia, where my baka lights a candle in the window every night of Advent, one more each week until all four are burning.
First, your name means Grandfather Frost. Are you like Ded Moroz?
Second, a geography question: what river runs through Zagreb?
Third, a school question about my country: why does Croatia have such a long, curved coastline along the Adriatic Sea?
I left you fritule and warm milk.
Love, Karlo, age 9, Zagreb, Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
From the Desk of Ðed Mraz
Dear Karlo, thank you for the treat, it was wonderful. Now, your questions.
Your name means Grandfather Frost. Are you like Ded Moroz?
Very much like him in spirit, cousins in the truest sense, sharing a name and a season but keeping our own distinct traditions here in Serbia and Croatia.
What river runs through Zagreb?
The Sava River flows along the edge of Zagreb, the same river that later joins the Danube down in Belgrade, and its quiet banks look especially peaceful dusted with snow as the sleigh comes in.
Why does Croatia have such a long, curved coastline along the Adriatic Sea?
Croatia’s coastline follows the eastern edge of the Adriatic Sea, shaped by more than a thousand islands and a long history of the land meeting the sea in dramatic, winding ways. That coastline has made Croatia an important crossroads for trade and travel for thousands of years.
Sretan Bozic, Karlo.
Ho ho ho, Ðed Mraz
