Everyone will remember the Advent of 2020 as unusual. Many were separated from friends and family. Others weren’t able to travel nor visit the places or people we wanted to. The difference was noted significantly in Croatia, where family means everything, especially at Christmas.
Over recent years, Croatia has become one of the best-known places in Europe to visit for the Advent season. Zagreb’s award-winning Advent celebrations have spurred on efforts elsewhere in the country and many towns and cities in Croatia now pull out all the stops during Advent, gloriously decorating their streets and holding events that draw thrilled visitors.
Under the unusual constraints of 2020, one Advent season in Croatia imaginatively continued to draw the crowds. Although, it wasn’t so much the streets that were jammed as it was the internet servers. With the considerable help of local news portal Fiuman.hr, Kvarner Christmas Online welcomed tens of thousands of visitors.
Thanks to the imaginative coverage of Fiuman.hr, Kvarner Christmas Online was visited by well over half a million people in 2020. While many bars in Europe remained closed to human customers, Rijeka cake and ice cream cafe Cacao took the opportunity to fill its empty chairs with toy bears during Kvarner Christmas Online. Fiuman.hr’s video of the scene was viewed almost 245,000 times.
Their video of the Advent lights in the Gradina part of the city fared even better. Always a spectacular highlight of Kvarner Christmas online, Fiuman.hr’s video of Gradina got more than 300,000 views.
With its beautiful city centre parks, peaceful walks and promenade, the Advent season of nearby Opatija has become an increasingly popular choice for visitors over the winter holidays. And, in 2020, that was still the case during Kvarner Christmas online. Fiuman.hr ‘s video from the Opatija park near Šporer generated over 190 thousand views.
It just goes to show that while the Advent of 2020 may have been curtailed in unexpected ways, there’s no dampening of the love of Christmas and the festive spirit. Fiuman.hr’s video viewers will surely be lining up to visit Kvarner Christmas in person as soon as they can.
