January 9 is the Feast Day of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It is also the day in 1992 when the Republic of Srpska seceded from Bosnia and Herzegovina making Stephen Srpska’s patron saint.

It would be hard to imagine anything more splintered. Not only is its name a conglomeration, Bosnia and Herzegovina is made up of three recognized entities, the main two being The Republic of Srpska (orange) and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (yellow).

The third is the Brčko District (green). Although the Brčko District is formally held in condominium by both entities, it is a de facto third entity, as it has all the same powers as the other two entities and is under the direct sovereignty of BiH. The Republic of Srpska declared its independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 9, 1992 resulting in the Bosnian War.