The
SerbsSerbs are a South Slavic people living in the Central Europe and the Balkans , between the Balkan- and Carpathian mountains in the east and the Adriatic sea in the west. They are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia...
celebrate
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
for three consecutive days, beginning with Christmas Day. The
Serbian Orthodox ChurchThe Serbian Orthodox Church or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous...
uses the traditional
Julian CalendarThe Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and came into force in 45 BC . It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, known at least since Hipparchus...
, as per which Christmas Day (December 25) falls currently on January 7 of the
Gregorian CalendarThe Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas...
. This day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas, and the following two are accordingly called the second, and the third day of Christmas. During this festive time, one is to greet another person with "Christ is Born," which should be responded to with "Truly He is Born." The Serbian name for Christmas is
Božić (
CyrillicThe Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is the official modern alphabet used to write the Serbian language. It is an adaptation of the Cyrillic alphabet for the Serbian language, and was developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić from the traditional Cyrillic alphabet...
: Божић, ), which is the
diminutive formIn language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form, is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
of the word
bog, meaning 'god'.
This holiday surpasses all the other celebrated by Serbs, with respect to the diversity of applied
folk customsThe word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language:...
and
ritualA ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc..A ritual may be...
s. These may vary from region to region, some of them having modern versions adapted to the contemporary way of living. The ideal environment to carry them out fully is the traditional multi-generation country household. In the morning of
Christmas EveChristmas Eve, December 24, is the night before Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.-Western Churches:Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally celebrate a midnight Mass which begins sometime before midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony, which is held in churches...
an
oak treeAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 400 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
is felled, and a log cut from it is in the evening ceremoniously put on the domestic fire. A bundle of straw is taken into the house and spread over the floor. The dinner on this day is festive, copious and diverse in foods, although it is prepared in accordance with the rules of fasting. Groups of young people go from house to house of their village or neighborhood, congratulating the holiday, singing, and making performances; this continues through the next three days.
On Christmas Day, the celebration is announced at dawn by church bells and by shooting. A big importance is given to the first visit a family receives that day. People expect that it will summon prosperity and well-being for their household in the ensuing year; this visit is often pre-arranged. Christmas dinner is the most celebratory meal a family has during a year. A special, festive loaf of bread is baked for this occasion. The main course is roast pork of a pig which they cook whole by rotating it impaled on a wooden spit close to an open fire. It is not a part of Serbian traditions to exchange gifts during Christmas. Gift giving is, nevertheless, connected with the holiday, being traditionally done on the three consecutive Sundays that immediately precede it. Children, women, and men, respectively, are the set gift-givers on these three days. Closely related to Christmas is New Year's Day by the Julian calendar (January 14 on the Gregorian calendar), whose traditional folk name is Little Christmas.
Christmas Eve
The Serbian name for Christmas Eve during the daylight is
Badnji dan, and after the sunset it is called
Badnje veče.
[For the pronunciation of Serbian terms, see the section "List of terms".] Since the Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian, Christmas Eve (December 24) coincides with January 6 on the Gregorian calendar. On this day members of a household make preparations for the oncoming celebration.
Badnjak
The head of household goes into a forest preferably before the sunrise, or at least before noon, to select a young and strait oak tree and fell it. A log cut from this tree will have a central role in the celebration; the log is called
badnjak. Generally, one
badnjak is prepared for a household, but regionally that number may be greater than one. In the latter case, for each of the logs a separate tree is felled. The head is usually accompanied by several male members of the family. When they set off from home to get the
badnjak, they announce it by shooting their guns or small celebratory
mortarA mortar is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.- Function :...
s called
prangija.
When the head of household finds a tree that he regards as suitable for the
badnjak, he stands in front of it facing east. He throws grain at it, greets it, "Good morning and happy Christmas Eve to you," makes the
Sign of the CrossThe Sign of the Cross is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity. It may be accompanied by the trinitarian formula. For Christians, the motion symbolizes the Cross on Calvary by tracing the shape of the cross in the air or on one's own body...
, says a prayer, and kisses the tree. He then cuts it slantwise on its eastern side, using his axe; some men put gloves on before they start to cut the tree. It should fall to the east, without being stopped in its fall by surrounding trees. The first splinter is picked up and kept; it is believed to possess a beneficial power for the material well-being of household. In some regions, if the tree is not cut down after the third blow of the axe, it must not be cut further, but pulled and twisted until it breaks off. The top and the branches of the felled tree are lopped off. A
badnjak should be of such a length that allows it to be carried on a shoulder, up to about long. Brought home, each
badnjak is leaned vertically against the house beside the entrance door.
In the evening, a man of the family brings their
badnjak into the house. If there is more than one
badnjak, the thickest of them is regarded as the main, and it is brought in before the others by the head of household. Stepping across the threshold with his right foot first, the man greets the gathered family, "Good evening and happy Christmas Eve to you." The woman of the house greets him back, "May God give you well-being, and may you have good luck." She throws grain from a sieve at both the man and the
badnjak he carries. Having entered, he approaches the house's fireplace called
ognjište. The hearth of an ognjište is without a vertical surround, so it is similar to a
campfireA campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, usually in a fire ring. Campfires are a popular feature of camping, particularly among organized campers such as Scouts or Guides. Without proper precautions they are also potentially dangerous. A certain degree of skill is needed to properly build a...
. He lays down the log, putting its thicker side on the fire. He does it in such a way that a short length of the log at its thicker end, which has been nearest to the tree's roots, is left outside the fire. The other logs, if any, are brought in by males and laid on the fire parallel or perpendicular to the first
badnjak.
The head of household takes a jug of wine and pours some on the
badnjak; in some regions, he may strew wheat grains over the logs. He then proposes a
toastA toast is someone or something in honor of which people usually have a drink, the drink or honor itself, or the act of indicating that honor....
, "Grant, O God, that there be health and joy in this home, that our grain and grapevines yield well, that children be born healthy to us, that our property increase in the field, pen, and barn!" or similar. The head drinks a draught of wine from the jug, after which the members of household pass it one to another and drink. At the side of
ognjište where the thicker end of
badnjak is situated, the family puts a
plowshareIn agriculture, a plowshare is a component of a plow . It is the cutting or leading edge of a moldboard which closely follows the coulter when plowing ....
and a sieve containing grain, honey, cakes, wine, salt, prunes, walnuts, and apples. The
badnjak ought not to be jumped over or trodden upon.
A very festive moment is when the
badnjak burns through, whereby the length at its thicker end which has been left outside the fire gets separated from the rest of the log. Wine is poured over it again, and toasts are proposed. In the past, men would go out and shoot their guns with joy when this happened in their home. There is a custom that the head of household gives a reward to one who has been the first to notice this event. Following this, some families let the fire go out; in others men keep watch in shifts by the
ognjište during the night to keep the
badnjak burning. The thicker end of the log is, however, left at the side of
ognjište where it has fallen after the burning through, and is not put on the fire.
These ancient traditions have modern, reduced versions, since houses today usually have no
ognjište on which to burn a
badnjak. It is symbolically represented by several leaved oak twigs, some of which are burnt in a wood-burning
kitchen stoveA kitchen stove, cooking stove, cookstove or cooker is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for baking.In the industrialized world, as stoves replaced open fires...
, the others being placed beside the stove. In a home where no wood-burning stove is used, these twigs can be set at an appropriate place in the home as an ornament. For the convenience of people who live in towns and cities, they can be bought at marketplaces or received in churches.
Since the early 1990s, the Serbian Orthodox Church has, together with local communities, organized public celebrations on Christmas Eve. The course of these celebrations can be typically divided into three parts: the preparation, the ritual, and the festivity. The preparation consists of going and cutting down the tree to be used as the
badnjak, taking it to the church yard, and preparing drink and food for the assembled parishioners. The ritual includes
VespersVespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from the Greek εσπερινός and the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." The term is also in limited use in some Protestant...
, placing the
badnjak on the open fire built in the church yard, blessing or consecrating the
badnjak, and an appropriate program with songs and recitals. In some parishes they build the fire on which to burn the
badnjak not in the church yard but at some other suitable location in their town or village. The festivity consists of getting together around the fire and socializing. Each particular celebration, however, has its own specificities which reflect traditions of the local community, and other local factors.
The laying of badnjak on the fire would have been considered the least a Serbian family could do to show their devotedness to Serbian tradition. In
Petar II Petrović-NjegošPetar II Petrović-Njegoš was a Serbian Orthodox Prince-Bishop of Montenegro and a ruler who transformed Montenegro from a theocracy into a secular state. However, he is most famous as a poet and is considered by many to be among the greatest poets of the Serbian language and a national poet of...
's poem
The Mountain WreathThe Mountain Wreath , in original orthography: Горскıй вıенацъ, Romanian: "Cununa munţilor") is a poem and play, a masterpiece of Serbian and Montenegrin literature, written by Montenegrin Prince-Bishop and poet Petar II Petrović-Njegoš.Njegoš published The Mountain Wreath, in 1847...
, Voivode Batrić urges converts to
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
to return to Christianity and Serbdom: "[...] Lay the Serbian Christmas-log [
badnjak] on the fire, paint the
Easter eggEaster eggs are specially decorated eggs given to celebrate the Easter holiday or springtime.The egg was a symbol of the rebirth of the earth in Pagan celebrations of spring and was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the rebirth....
s various colours, observe with care the
LentLent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter.The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus,...
and
Christmas fastsThe Nativity Fast, is a period abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, in preparation for the Nativity of Christ, . The fast is similar to the Western Advent, except that it runs for 40 days instead of four weeks...
. As for the rest, do what your heart desires!"
In old Christmas songs, the
badnjak and Christmas are referred to as male personages, with an opposition made between the former, described as old, and the latter, described as young. The Serbian name for Christmas is
Božić, the diminutive form of the noun
bog, meaning 'god';
Božić can be thus translated as Young God.
Christmas straw
During the daylight a man of the family takes a large armful of straw from a stack, and ties it with a rope. Right after the
badnjak has been brought into the house, the same is done with this bundle of straw, with the same rituals. In some regions, it is carried three times around the house before it is taken in. Having put it down on the floor, the man who brought the bundle in imitates a hen clucking to call her chicks. Children of the family approach him imitating chicks and pick at the straw, which is then strewn all over the floor. Some people throw walnuts on this straw. The head of household goes after that into his barn, and pours wine and grain on his
livestockLivestock are one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fiber, or labor...
.
Dinner
Once the
badnjak and straw have been taken into the house, the Christmas Eve dinner may begin. The head of household makes the Sign of the Cross, lights a candle, and
censeCensers are any type of vessels made for burning incense. These vessels vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction. They may consist of simple earthenware bowls or fire pots to intricately carved silver or gold vessels, small table top objects a few centimetres tall to as many as...
s the whole house. In some regions it is a custom that he then goes out into the yard, calls by name pest animals (e.g. wolves, foxes, and hawks) and his personal enemies, inviting them, "Come to dinner now and again in a year, God willing." This is intended to protect the household from them for a year.
Until the beginning of the 20th century in the
Pirot DistrictThe Pirot District expands in the south eastern parts of Serbia. It has a population of 116,926. Its seat is in the city of Pirot.-Municipalities:It encompasses the municipalities of:*Bela Palanka*Pirot*Babušnica...
, south-eastern
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
, the head of household would go out to his woodpile, where he would invite
GermanGerman is a South Slavic mythological being, recorded in the folklore of eastern Serbia and northern Bulgaria. He is a male spirit associated with bringing rain and hail. His influence on these precipitations can be positive, resulting with the amount of rain beneficial for agriculture, or...
(pronounced ) – a male
mythological beingA legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature .-Description:Some creatures, such as the dragon and griffin, have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures...
associated with bringing rain and
hailHail is a form of solid precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, that are individually called hail stones. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between 5 and 150 millimeters in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe and dangerous...
. He would take with him a loaf of bread called good luck, prepared particularly for this ritual,
rakiaRakia is fruit brandy that is produced by distillation of fermented fruit; it is a popular beverage throughout the Balkans, Italy, and France. Its alcohol content is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger...
, wine, and a
wax candleWax refers to beeswax or another substance with similar properties. The traditional meaning, beeswax, refers to a substance secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs...
. At the woodpile, he would shout three times, "
German,
German, wherever you are, come to dinner right now, and in the summer do not let me see your eyes anywhere!" He would then light the candle, take a sip of rakia, taste some bread, drink wine, and go back into his house. Asked what happened with
German, he would answer, "He came, so we dined and drank amply of rakia and wine, and then we parted." This ritual was intended to prevent summer hailstorms.
Before the table is served, it is strewn with a thin layer of straw and covered with a white cloth. The family members sit down at the table. Prior to tucking in, they all rise and a man or boy among them says a prayer, or they together sing the
TroparionA troparion in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodoxy is a short hymn of one stanza, or one of a series of stanzas. The word probably derives from a diminutive of the Greek tropos...
of the Nativity in Church Slavonic language:
 |
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God,
has shone to the world the light of wisdom;
for in it those who served the starsIn Christian tradition the Magi , also referred to as the Wise Men, Kings, or Kings from the East, are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts. They are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew , which says that they came "from the east" to worship the Christ, "born King of the...
were taught by a starThe Star of Bethlehem, also called the Christmas Star, is a star in Christian tradition that revealed the birth of Jesus to the magi, or "wise men", and later led them to Bethlehem. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the magi were men "from the east" who were inspired by the appearance of the star...
to bow down before Thee, the Sun of Righteousness,
and to know Thee, the Daybreak from on high.
O , glory to Thee. |
|
Christmas Eve being a fast day, the dinner is prepared in accordance with that, but it is copious and diverse in foods. Besides a round
unleavenedA leavening agent is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action which lightens and softens the finished product...
loaf of bread called
badnjački kolač, and salt, which are necessary, this meal may comprise e.g. roast fish, cooked beans,
sauerkrautSauerkraut is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid that forms when the bacteria ferment the sugars in...
, noodles with ground walnuts, honey, and wine. It used to be served in some villages on a sack filled with straw, with the family seated around it on the floor. In the north
DalmatiaDalmatia , is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern Croatia. It spreads between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, in the southeast...
n region of
BukovicaBukovica is a geographical region in Croatia. It is situated in northern Dalmatia, between Lika in the north, Kninska Krajina in the east, and Ravni Kotari in the south-west...
, a part of food that remained after the dinner used to be put on a potsherd, and taken to the rubbish heap. Wolf was there invited for dinner, "My dear wolf, do not slaughter my sheep, here you are groats! Here you are yours, and leave mine alone!"
Following dinner, young people visit their friends, a group of whom may gather at the house of one of them. The elderly narrate stories form the olden times. Christmas songs are sung, in which Christmas is treated as a male personage. An old Christmas song from the
Bay of KotorThe Bay of Kotor in south-western Montenegro and south-eastern Croatia, is a winding bay on the Adriatic Sea. The bay, sometimes called Europe's southernmost fjord, is in fact a submerged river canyon of the disintegrated Bokelj River which used to run from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen...
has the following lyrics:
Božić zove svrh planine, one visoke:
„Veselite se, Srbi braćo, vrijeme vi je!
Nalagajte krupna drva, ne cijepajte!
Sijecite suvo meso, ne mjerite!
Prostirite šenič' slamu mjesto trpeze,
a po slami trpežnjake, svilom kićene!
A odaje i pendžere lovoričicom!
A ikone i stolove masliničicom!
Utočite rujna vina, rujna crvena,
i rakije lozovače prve bokare!
Vi, đevojke i nevjeste, kola igrajte,
a vi, staro i nejako, Boga molite!“
|
- Christmas calls from top of mountain, of that lofty one,
- “Be rejoicing, O Serbs, brothers, it's time for you to!
- Replenish the fire with large logs, do you not chop up!
- Cut off slices of the dried meat, do you not measure!
- Spread bundles of the wheaten straw instead of tables,
- and over the straw – tablecloths, embellished with silk!
- And the chambers and the windows – with the laurel twigs!
- And the icons and the tables – with the olive twigs!
- Fill glasses of the ruby wine, of the ruby red,
- and the first pitchers of lozovača rakia!
- You, girls and newly-wed women, do the kolo
Kolo is a collective folk dance, danced by Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Slovenes, where a group of people holding each other by the hands or around the waist dance, ideally in a circle, hence the name. There is almost no movement above the waist...
dance,
- and you, old and infirm people, make prayers to God!"
|
|
In Bosnia and
HerzegovinaHerzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, comprising 11,419 sq km or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country. In other sources it comprises 12,276 sq km, this constitutes 24% of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, some Christmas songs are sung during days close to Christmas Eve, others on that day, and still others on Christmas Day itself. The following song is one of those sung in the evening before Christmas Day:
Божић сједи у травици,
у црвеној кабаници.
Божић виче иза воде:
„Пренес'те ме преко воде;
не шаљ'те ми старе бабе,
старе бабе темрљаве,
превалиће ме;
не шаљ'те ми дјевојака,
дјевојке су ђаволасте,
бациће ме;
не шаљ'те ми невјестице,
невјестице везиљице,
убошће ме;
већ ми шаљ'те домаћина
да ме превезе,
домаћин ће славити ме
довијека свог.“
|
- Christmas is seated in the grass,
- clothèd in a red overcoat.
- He calls from across the water,
- "Carry me over the water;
- do not send me old grandmothers,
- old grandmothers are feeblish,
- they will let me fall;
- do not send me youthful damsels,
- youthful damsels are frolicsome,
- they will throw me;
- do not send little brides to me,
- little brides are embroiderer
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
s,
- they will prick me;
- but send me a head of household
- to take me across,
- household head will celebrate me
- as long as he lives."
|
|
It is a custom in
BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania , the western part in Serbia , and a...
that, after Christmas Eve dinner, groups of children go from house to house of their neighborhood and sing to neighbors. This custom is called
korinđanje, and the children who participate in it are called
korinđaši. They knock on a neighbor's door or ring the doorbell; when the neighbor comes out they greet him, and ask if they are allowed to sing. If the answer is affirmative, they sing a children's ditty or the Troparion of the Nativity. As a reward, the neighbor gives them candies or even money; more traditional gifts include walnuts, prunes, apples, and cakes. Not only can Serbian children be
korinđaši, but also
RomanianThe Romanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian ; they are the majority inhabitants of România.In one prominent interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would...
and
HungarianHungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Hungarians in Hungary . Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium...
ones.
Once the household members have gone to bed, an elderly woman of the family sticks a knife into the house door from the inside. Alternatively, she puts a hawthorn stake by the door, hanging a wreath of
garlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that...
on it. This is done as a protection against
curseA curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or unhappiness will befall another person or persons. In particular, a wish that harm or hurt will be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell, a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic, witchcraft, a god, a natural force,...
s,
witchWitchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers. Witchcraft can refer to the use of such powers in order to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property...
es, and
demonIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
s. For the same reason, children are rubbed with garlic on the palms, armpits, and soles before going to bed. In some regions, men keep watch in shifts by the
ognjište during the night, to keep the fire burning.
Christmas
Christmas Day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas. The celebration is announced at dawn by church bells, and by shooting from guns and
prangijas. The head of household and some of the family go to church to attend the
Morning LiturgyThe Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the...
. No one is to eat anything before tasting the
prosphoraA prosphoron is a small loaf of bread used in Orthodox Christian liturgies. The plural form is prosphora...
, which the head of household will bring from church for those who stay at home to do domestic tasks for this morning.
The Serbs native to the
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
n region of
White CarniolaWhite Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
try to see only healthy and prosperous people on this day. The Serbs of
Timiş CountyTimiş is a county of western Romania, in the historical region Banat, with the county seat at Timişoara...
in
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
have since the
interwar periodThe interwar period is understood, within recent Western culture, to be the period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War. This is also called the period between the wars or interbellum....
adopted the custom of erecting in their homes a
Christmas treeThe Christmas tree is a decorated artificial or living tree, a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during...
, which they call
krisindla, after the
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
ChristkindDas Christkind , pronounced /kʁɪstkɪnt/, is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in regions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of Hispanic America, in certain areas of southern Brazil and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana...
l. On Christmas Day children sing little songs, at the beginning of which Christmas is said to knock or tread loudly. This may be understood as a
theophanyTheophany, from the Ancient Greek Θεοφάνεια - Τheophaneia , refers to the appearance of a deity to a human, or to a divine disclosure....
: by the sound, Young God makes his arrival known to people. The following are the lyrics of two of such songs:
Божић штапом бата,
носи сува злата
од врата до врата.
На чија ће врата
дат' благослов, злата?
На наша ће врата
просут' шаку злата. |
- Christmas knocks with a stick,
- he carries solid gold
- from a door to a door.
- Upon whose door will he
- give his blessing and gold?
- Upon our door he will
- spill a handful of gold.
|
Божић, Божић бата,
носи киту злата
да позлати врата,
и од боја до боја,
и сву кућу до крова! |
Christmas, Christmas treads loud,
carries a clump of gold
to make golden the door,
and also, from floor to floor,
all the house to the rooftop! |
|
Strong water
A girl or woman goes early in the morning to a resource of water, as a
wellA water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
,
springA spring is any natural occurrence where water flows on to the surface of the earth from below the surface, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.- Formation :...
, or
streamA stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run...
. Putting by the resource an ear of
maizeMaize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...
and a bunch of
basilBasil , of the Family Lamiaceae , is a tender low-growing herb.Basil is a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Southeast Asian cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet...
which she has brought from home, she collects water with a bucket, and takes it home to her family. This water collected on early Christmas morning is called strong water, believed to possess a special beneficial power. Each member of the family washes the face with it, and drinks it before breakfast; infants are bathed in it. On her way back home, the girl who carries strong water picks several cornel or
willowWillows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
twigs, with which children are gently struck that morning. This is intended to strengthen their health.
[There is a Serbian]Serbs are a South Slavic people living in the Central Europe and the Balkans , between the Balkan- and Carpathian mountains in the east and the Adriatic sea in the west. They are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia...
saying for a healthy person: zdrav kao dren, "as healthy as cornelThe European Cornel is a species of dogwood native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. In North America, the plant is known by the common name of Cornelian Cherry....
".
Polažajnik
A
polažajnik, called also
polaženik,
polaznik, or
radovan, is the first person who visits a family during Christmas. This visit may be fortuitous or pre-arranged. People expect that it will summon prosperity and well-being for their household in the ensuing year. A family often picks in advance a man or boy, and arranges that he visit them on Christmas morning. If this proves to be lucky for the family, he is invited again next year to be the
polažajnik. If not, they send word to him not to come any more in that capacity.
A
polažajnik steps into the house with his right foot first, greeting the gathered family, "Christ is Born, Happy Christmas." He carries grain in his glove, which he shakes out before the threshold, or throws at the family members. "Truly He is Born," they respond throwing grain at him. The
polažajnik then approaches the
ognjište, takes a poker or a branch, and strikes repeatedly the burning
badnjak to make sparks fly from it. At the same time he utters these words (or similar):
Колико варница, толико среће у овој кући.
Колико варница, толико у домаћинском џепу новаца.
Колико варница, толико у тору оваца.
Колико варница, толико прасади и јагањаца.
Колико варница, толико гусака и пилади,
а највише здравља и весеља.
|
- How many sparks, that much happiness in this house.
- How many sparks, that much money in the household head's pocket.
- How many sparks, that many sheep in the pen
A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. The term describes multiple types of enclosures that may confine one or many animals. Construction and terminology varies depending on region of the world, purpose, animal species to be confined, local materials used, and cultural tradition...
.
- How many sparks, that many pigs and lambs.
- How many sparks, that many geese and chickens,
- and most of all, health and joy.
|
|
Having said that, he moves the log a little forward and throws a coin into the fire. The woman of the house puts a woolen blanket on the
polažajniks back, and seats him on a low stool by the ognjište
. In the moment when he sits down, they try to pull away the stool beneath him, as if to make him fall on the floor. The polažajnik
goes out into the yard, and throws grain inside a circle made with the rope with which Christmas straw has been tied, calling chickens. When they gather in the circle he catches a rooster, whose head is then cut off by him or the head of household on the house's threshold. The rooster will be roasted on a wooden spit as a part of Christmas dinner. A polažajnik
usually stays for dinner at his hosts' home. He is gifted a round cake with an embedded coin, and a towel, shirt, socks, or some other useful thing.
A modern version of the custom to make sparks fly from the badnjak
is adapted to houses without an ognjište
. Several oak twigs, which symbolically represent a badnjak
, are put on fire in a wood-burning kitchen stove. The polažajnik
stirs them with a poker saying the aforementioned words.
A custom to use a domestic animal as a polažajnik
was kept in some regions until the first half of the 20th century. A sheep, ox, swine, or calf was led into the house on Christmas morning. In the west Serbian region of Rađevina, centered in the town KrupanjKrupanj is a town and municipality located in the Mačva District of Serbia. The municipality has a total population of 20,192, while the town has a population of 4,912 .-Geography:...
, the head of household would place a sheep between himself and the ognjište
, and pronounce the aforementioned words while striking the badnjak with a branch cut from it. In the region of
BihorBihor is a geographical region in northeastern Montenegro. The region is within two municipalities, Berane and Bijelo Polje. It was named after Bihor, a former medieval town that was near Bijelo Polje. The region mainly consists of ethnic Bosniaks....
, north-eastern
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
, a round loaf of bread with a hole in its center was prepared; four grooves were impressed into its surface along two mutually perpendicular diameters of the loaf. After an ox was led into the house, the loaf was put on his horn, and some grain was thrown on him. Yanking his head, the ox would throw off the loaf; having fallen down, it would break into four pieces along the grooves. The pieces were picked up and distributed among the family members. This custom was preserved up to the 1950s even in some Muslim families of the region.
EthnologistEthnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific Discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
s consider that the animal polažajnik
is more ancient than the human one.
Pečenica
In the morning of Christmas Day, or more often Eve, men build a fire in the house yard, and roast a pig impaled on a long wooden spit, rotating it slowly by the fire. This roasted pig, called pečenica
, is a necessary part of Christmas dinner. A sheep is less frequently used for this purpose. People who raise their own swine dedicate one for the pečenica
a month or two before the holiday, and feed it with better fodderIn agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
. It used to be killed on Tucindan
, the day before Christmas Eve, by hitting on the head with a lump of salt. Its throat was then cut, the blood being collected and mixed with fodder. Feeding cattle with this mixture was believed to make them healthy and thriving. The name Tucindan
is derived from the verb tući
, meaning 'to beat'. The pig is now usually slaughtered on the same day when it will be cooked. Those who roast the pečenica
on Christmas Eve, bring it after the roasting into the house with the ritual similar to that of bringing in the badnjak
.
Christmas loaves
An essential feature of Christmas dinner is a česnicaČesnica is a kind of soda bread made on Christmas morning, in Serbian tradition. A solid silver coin for health and good luck is placed into the bread...
, which is a round loaf of bread. Dough for a česnica
is made with strong water. While it is kneaded, a golden or silver coin is put into it. Some people put also little objects made of cornel woodThe European Cornel is a species of dogwood native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. In North America, the plant is known by the common name of Cornelian Cherry....
, representing chickens, oxen, cows, swine, bees, etc.
In addition to a česnica
, other kinds of Christmas loaves may be regionally baked, each with its specific name and purpose within the celebration. A božićni kolač
, meaning Christmas cake, is despite its name a round loaf of bread. Before baking, a ChristogramA Christogram is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbol...
is impressed on its upper side with a wooden seal. For each male member of the family a round loaf named ratarica
is made – the biggest one for the head, and the smallest one for the youngest boy. As for the female members, for each of them a pletenica is prepared, a loaf shaped like a
three-strand braidA braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibers, wire, or human hair...
– the biggest one for the woman of the house, and the smallest one for the youngest girl. A set of little loaves is baked with a different symbol inscribed on the upper side of each of them, representing: a vineyard, barrel, hoof, ox, cow with a calf, sow with a piglet, ewe with a lamb, mare with a foal, hen with chicks, plow, hand of a sower, goose, or pigeon.
Christmas dinner
Christmas dinner is the most celebratory meal a family has during a year. In the early afternoon the family members sit down at the table. When the head of household gives a sign, all rise. He lights a candle, incenses his family and house, and prays the
Lord's PrayerThe Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is perhaps the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages...
. After that, they all kiss each other on the cheek saying, "The peace of God among us, Christ is Born." They together hold the česnica
and rotate it three times counterclockwiseA clockwise motion is one that proceeds 'like the clock's hands': from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back to the top. In a mathematical sense, a circle defined parametrically in a positive Cartesian plane by the equations x = sin t and y = cos t is traced clockwise as...
, singing the Troparion of the Nativity. They then break the česnica
among themselves, a piece of which is set aside for absent family members, another piece for a stranger who might become their guest, and the rest is used during the dinner. It is said that the one who finds the coin hidden in the česnica
will have an exceptionally good luck in the ensuing year. In some regions, a half of this festive loaf is set aside and eaten on New Year's DayNew Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome . In all countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, except for Israel, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the...
as per Julian calendar, i. e. January 14 on the Gregorian calendar. The main courseA main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée course, and the salad course. In North American usage it may in fact be called the "entrée"....
of Christmas dinner is roast pork of the pečenica. During the dinner, the head of household proposes a
toastA toast is someone or something in honor of which people usually have a drink, the drink or honor itself, or the act of indicating that honor....
to his family with a glass of wine several times. The verbalization of these toasts is usually traditional, for example this one from
HerzegovinaHerzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, comprising 11,419 sq km or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country. In other sources it comprises 12,276 sq km, this constitutes 24% of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and Montenegro:
Сјај Боже и Божићу,
кућњем шљемену и сјемену,
волу и тежаку, козици и овчици,
путнику намјернику, рибици у водици, птици у горици!
Сјај Боже и Божићу,
Мени домаћину и моме племену и шљемену!
|
- Shine, O God and Christmas,
- on rooftop and children of house,
- on ox and farmer, goat and sheep,
- on traveler, fish in water, bird in mountain!
- Shine, O God and Christmas,
- on me, head of household, and on my family and rooftop!
|
|
After Christmas dinner, the remaining food should not be removed from the table – only the used tableware is taken away. The food is covered with a white cloth, and eaten in the evening as supper.
Koleda
The koleda
is a custom that a group of young men, maskA mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, concealment, performance, or amusement. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
ed and costumed, goes from house to house of their village singing special koleda
songs and performing acts of magic to summon health, wealth, and prosperity for each household. The members of the group are called koledari
. The koleda is carried out from the Feast of
Saint Ignatius TheophorusIgnatius of Antioch was among the Apostolic Fathers, was the third Bishop and Patriarch of Antioch, and was possibly a student of John the Apostle. En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of very early Christian theology...
(five days before Christmas) up until the Epiphany. This custom is best preserved in the upper
Pčinja DistrictThe Pčinja District expands to the southern parts of Serbia, bordering Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 243,529...
, and in the region around the River South Morava in the
Jablanica DistrictThe Jablanica District expands in the south eastern parts of Serbia. It has a population of 255,011...
, south-eastern Serbia. Regarded as pagan and discouraged by the Serbian Orthodox Church, the koleda
ceased to be performed among most of the Serbs during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Koledari
prepare themselves during several days before the start of the koleda
: they practice the koleda songs, and make their masks and costumes. The masks can be classified into three types according to the characters they represent: the anthropomorphic, the zoomorphic (representing bear, cow, stag, goat, sheep, ox, wolf, stork, etc.), and the anthropo-zoomorphic. The main material from which they are produced is hide. The face, however, may be made separately out of a dried gourd shell or a piece of wood, and then sewn to hide so that the mask can cover all the head. The moustache, beard, and eyebrows are made with black wool, horsehair, or
hempHemp is the name of the soft, durable fiber that is cultivated from plants of the Cannabis genus, cultivated only for industrial use....
fibers, and the teeth with beans. Zoomorphic and anthropo-zoomorphic masks may have white, black, or red painted horns attached to them. The costumes are prepared from ragged clothes,
sheepskinSheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin or lambswool.Sheepskin may also refer to:* Parchment, a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin** Diploma, originally made of sheepskin...
s with the wool turned outside, and calf hides. Strings of little bells and
ratchetA ratchet, also called a noisemaker , is an orchestral musical instrument played by percussionists. Operating on the principle of the ratchet device, a gearwheel and a stiff board is mounted on a handle, which can be freely rotated...
s are fastened around the waist and the knees of the costumes. An ox tail with a bell fixed at its end may be attached at the back of them.
The leader of the group is called Grandpa. The other koledari
gather at his house on the eve of koleda
, and at midnight they all go out and start their activities. Walking through streets of the village they shout and make noise with bells and ratchets. Most are armed with sabers or clubA club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon....
s. One of them, called Bride, is masked and costumed as a pregnant woman. He holds a distaffAs a noun, a distaff is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly used to hold flax, and sometimes wool, but can be used for any type of fiber. Fiber is wrapped around the distaff, and tied in...
in his hand and spinsSpinning is an ancient textile art in which plant, animal or synthetic fibers are twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fiber was spun by hand using simple tools, the spindle and distaff...
hemp fibers. The koledari
tease and joke with Bride, which gives a comic note to the koleda
. Several of them are called alosnici
(s. alosnik
), representing men possessed by the demon alaAn ala or hala is a mythological creature recorded in the folklore of Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Serbs. Ale are considered demons of bad weather whose main purpose is to lead hail-producing thunderclouds in the direction of fields, vineyards, or orchards to destroy the crops, or loot and take...
. There may be other named characters in the group.
The koledari
sing special songs, in which the word koledo
, the vocative caseThe vocative case is the case used for a noun identifying the person being addressed and/or occasionally the determiners of that noun. A vocative expression is an expression of direct address, wherein the identity of the party being spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence...
of koleda, is inserted in the middle and at the end of each verse. Grandpa initiates each song, determining which one will be sung at a given time. His choice depends on whether they are in a street, or coming in front of, entering, staying in, or leaving a house: there is a separate set of the songs for each of these situations.
Vuk Stefanović KaradžićVuk Stefanović Karadžić was a Serbian linguist and major reformer of the Serbian language.-Early life:...
recorded in the 19th century the lyrics of a number of the koleda
songs, including the following one, which koledari sung while entering a house:
Добар вече, коледо, домаћине, коледо!
Затекосмо где вечера,
на трпези вино пије,
твој говедар код говеда.
Краве ти се истелиле,
све волове витороге;
кобиле се иждребиле,
све коњице путоноге;
овце ти се изјагњиле,
све овчице свилоруне.
Чобанин се наслонио
на гранчицу ораову.
Туд пролази млада мома,
да поткине ту гранчицу.
Проговара чобанине:
„Девојчице, бело лице,
ко ти реза борну сукњу,
у скутови разбориту,
у појасу сабориту?“
„Имам брата баш-терзију,
те ми реза борну сукњу,
у скутови разбориту,
у појасу сабориту.“
|
- Good evening, koledo, head of household, koledo!
- We've found him eat the evening meal,
- and drink of wine at a table,
- your cow herder, by your cattle.
- May all of your cows be calving
- nothing but the twist-horned oxen;
- may all of your mares be foaling
- nothing but the colts with stockings;
- may all of your ewes be lambing
- nothing but the silken-wooled sheep.
- A sheep herder has leaned himself
- on a slender stick of walnut
Walnuts are plants in the family Juglandaceae. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts but not the hickories in the same family.The 21 species...
.
- There passes by a young damsel
- to pull away that slender stick.
- The sheep herder begins to speak,
- "Little damsel with a white face,
- who has fashioned your pleat
A pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference....
ed dress,
- along the skirt, with spreading pleats,
- at the waistline
The waistline is the line of demarcation between the upper and lower portions of a garment, which notionally corresponds to the natural waist but may vary with fashion from just below the bust to below the hips. The waistline of a garment is often used to accentuate different features...
, with gathered pleats?"
- "My brother is tailor-in-chief,
- he has fashioned my pleated dress,
- along the skirt, with spreading pleats,
- at the waistline, with gathered pleats."
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|
In the following song, also recorded by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, the badnjak
and Christmas are referred to as male personages. An opposition is made between the former, described as old, and the latter, described as young. Koledari
sung it to the household head in whose home they came:
Домаћине, коледо, господине, коледо!
Застасмо те за вечером,
где вечеру ти вечераш,
белим грлом вино пијеш,
и очима бисер бројиш,
и рукама гајтан плетеш.
Додај нама крај гајтана,
на чем ћемо Бога молит
за старога - за Бадњака,
за младога - за Божића.
|
- Head of household, koledo, honored master, koledo!
- We've found you at the evening meal:
- you are eating your evening meal,
- with the white throat drinking of wine,
- and with the eyes counting up pearls,
- and with the hands knitting ribbon.
- Pass the end of ribbon to us,
- on which we will pray to the God
- for the old one - for the Badnjak,
- for the young one - for the Christmas.
|
|
Besides the singing, the koledari
also chase away demons from the household. First they search the house to find out where the demons hide. They look everywhere, at the same time shouting, dancing, jumping, knocking on the floor and walls with sticks, and teasing Bride. When they find the demons, they drive them out of the hiding place, and fight with them swinging their sabers and clubs. After the demons are chased away, the koledari
briefly dance the koloKolo is a collective folk dance, danced by Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and Slovenes, where a group of people holding each other by the hands or around the waist dance, ideally in a circle, hence the name. There is almost no movement above the waist...
, and then bless the household. As a reward, they receive a loaf of bread which the family prepared specially for them, and other food gifts.
Vertep
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a group of boys dressed in variegated costumes goes from house to house of their village carrying a vertep
– a litterThe litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include jiao , sedan chairs , palanquin , gama and tahtırevan...
that represents the manger in which newborn Jesus ChristThe Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
was placed. In front of every house they sing Christmas songs, and recite poems that praise the birth of Christ. This custom is called vertep
, and the participants in it – vertepaši
. The name vertep
comes from the Church Slavonic вєртє́пъ , meaning cave
, referring to the cave where the manger was sitedThe Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth, and it is considered sacred by followers of both Christianity and Islam .-History:The...
. Similarly to koledari
, vertepaši are armed with wooden swords and fence with each other in front of houses.
Second and third day of Christmas
On the second day of Christmas, families visit each other at their homes. On the third day, Christmas straw is taken out of houses. Little bundles are made with it, and hung on fruit trees to make them fruit better. A bigger bundle of it is stored in a dry place: it will be burned on St. George's Day, as a protection of fields against
hailHail is a form of solid precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, that are individually called hail stones. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between 5 and 150 millimeters in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe and dangerous...
. Another bundle is taken away across the nearest stream – a symbolic elimination of all the vermin that may be present in the house. Men make crosses from the remnant of the thicker side of badnjak, and stick them under
eavesAn eave is the edge of a roof. Eaves usually project beyond the side of the building generally to provide weather protection. Some buildings, such as Craftsman bungalows, have very wide eaves with decorative brackets....
, on fields, meadows, vineyards, and
apiariesAn apiary is a place where beehives of honey bees are kept. Traditionally beekeepers paid land rent in honey for the use of small parcels...
. It is believed this will help that the ensuing year be happy and fruitful. A good sign that this will be the case is when there is a lot of snow on Christmas Day.
The third day of Christmas coincides with
St. Stephen's DaySt. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St...
, which is the
slavaThe slava , also called krsna slava and krsno ime , is the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the ritual celebration, veneration and observance of a family’s own patron saint. The family celebrates the slava annually on the patron saint's feast day...
of many Serbian families. It is also the slava of
Republika SrpskaRepublika Srpska is one of two main political-territorial divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
. In this way, many Serbs celebrate two important holidays, Christmas and slava, within three days.
Twelve Days of Christmas
During the
Twelve Days of ChristmasThe Twelve Days of Christmas, and the associated evenings of those twelve days , are the festive days beginning on Christmas Day through to the evening of the Twelfth Day of Christmas, . Thus, the first night of Christmas is December 25–26 and Twelfth Night is January 5-6. This period is also...
(January 7 – January 18 on the Gregorian calendar), one is to greet another person with "Christ is Born," which should be responded to with "Truly He is Born." January 14 coincides with New Year's Day according to the Julian calendar. A traditional folk name for this holiday is Mali Božić
– Little Christmas. The head and the right Boston buttBoston butt is a cut of pork that comes from the upper part of the shoulder from the front leg and may contain the blade bone. Smoked or barbecued Boston butt is a southern tradition...
of pečenica
, which have been reserved at Christmas dinner, are served for dinner on this day. A part of this meal consists of little round loaves made with cornmealCornmeal is flour ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour...
and creamCream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream this process is accelerated by using centrifuges called "separators"...
. They are named vasilica
after Saint Basil the GreatBasil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great, was the bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor . He was an influential 4th century Christian theologian and monastic...
, because January 1 is also the feast day of this saint. People versed in scapulimancyScapulimancy is the practice of divination by use of scapulae...
used the shoulder bladeIn anatomy, the scapula, omo , or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus with the clavicle ....
of the Boston butt to foretell events concerning the family in the ensuing year. The snout cut from the head of pečenica
could have been used in love magicLove magic is the attempt to bind the passions of another, or to capture them as a sex object through magical means rather than through direct activity...
. If a girl looked stealthily through the snout at a boy she loved, but who did not care for her, he would supposedly go mad about her.
On the day before Little Christmas, especially in south-eastern Serbia, a group of young unmarried men goes through streets of their village and chase away demons by making a deafening noise. Sirovari
, as these men are called, shout as loud as possible two words, "Sirovo burovo
!" accompanied by the noise made with bells, ratchetA ratchet, also called a noisemaker , is an orchestral musical instrument played by percussionists. Operating on the principle of the ratchet device, a gearwheel and a stiff board is mounted on a handle, which can be freely rotated...
s, and horseshoes strung on a rope. The group consists of seven, nine or eleven members; it is said that if there were an even number of sirovari, one of them would die within a year. Moving through the village, they try to make it impossible for anyone to count them. They constantly change positions in the group, hide and suddenly reappear. Villagers are glad to receive them in their homes, and treat them with food and drink.
The following custom was recorded at the end of the 19th century in the north Dalmatian region of
BukovicaBukovica is a geographical region in Croatia. It is situated in northern Dalmatia, between Lika in the north, Kninska Krajina in the east, and Ravni Kotari in the south-west...
. Early in the morning of Little Christmas, children of a family would spread Christmas straw from their house around the stake in the center of their village's
threshing floorA threshing floor is a specially flattened surface made either of rock or beaten earth where a farmer would thresh the grain harvest. The threshing floor was either owned by the entire village or by a single family. It was usually located outside the village in a place exposed to the wind....
. The use of this stake was to tether a horse to it; the animal was then driven around to
thresh grainThreshing is the process of loosening the edible part of cereal grain from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. It is the step in grain preparation before winnowing, which separates the loosened chaff from the grain. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.Threshing may be done by...
by treading with its hooves. The woman of the house would bake a big round unleavened loaf of bread with a hole in its center, inscribed with circles, crosses, hooks, and other symbols on its surface. The loaf would be taken to the threshing floor, and fixed round the stake. The oldest man of the family would hold the stake with his right hand above the loaf. As for his left hand, the next oldest man would hold it with his right hand, and so on to the youngest boy who could walk steadily. Holding hands in this manner, they would run around the stake three times. During the running they would shout in unison as loud as possible, "Ajd ajde, koba moja!
" meaning "Giddy-up, my mare!" – except for the man holding the stake, who would shout, "De! De! De!
" meaning "Go! Go! Go!" They would after that take the hollow loaf back home, and put it near the ognjište
beside the remnant of badnjak
. The woman of the house would "feed them fodder", i.e. prepare a meal for them, consisting of đevenica (a sort of dried sausage), roast pork, and the hollow loaf, plus
rakiaRakia is fruit brandy that is produced by distillation of fermented fruit; it is a popular beverage throughout the Balkans, Italy, and France. Its alcohol content is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger...
for adults. Having eaten, they would go back to the threshing floor and repeat the whole ritual, only this time without the loaf. In the end, they would collect Christmas straw from the threshing floor; it was put in hens' nests to prevent them from laying eggs outside the nests. This custom was considered as especially joyful for children.
The last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, January 18 (January 5 on the Julian calendar), is the eve of the Epiphany. Its folk name is Krstovdan
[This ]Krstovdan
should not be confused with the Feast of Exaltation of the Cross, whose folk name in Serbian is also Krstovdan
. – the Day of the Cross. This is a strict fast day; the adults should eat almost nothing. It was believed that the north, south, east, and west winds crossed each other on Krstovdan
. The wind that overpowered the other three, would be dominant in the ensuing year.
This twelve-day period used to be called the unbaptized days, during which demonic forces of all kinds were considered to be more than usually active and dangerous. People were cautious not to attract their attention, and did not go out late at night. The latter precaution especially applied to the demons called karakondžula
, imagined as heavy, squat, and ugly creatures. When a karakondžula found someone outdoors during the night of an unbaptized day, it would jump on his back, and make him carry it wherever it wanted. This torture would end only when roosters announced the dawn; at that moment the creature would release its victim and run away.
Gifts
It is not a part of Serbian traditions to exchange gifts during Christmas. Gift giving is, nevertheless, connected with this holiday, and it is traditionally done on the three consecutive Sundays that immediately precede Christmas Day. These three feast days are called, respectively, Detinjci
or Djetinjci
, Materice
, and Oci
. Gift givers are set for each of them: children on Detinjci
, married women on Materice
, and married men on Oci
. The best presents are exchanged between parents and their children.
The gifts are given in the form of a ransomRansom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In early Germanic law a similar concept was called Weregild....
. In the morning of Detinjci
, adults use a belt, rope, or scarf to tie their and neighbors' children. A child is tied by its legs – to one another if it stands, or to a chair if it sits. Children have already prepared presents for this event, with which they "pay the ransom" to their parents or neighbors who have tied them, and get untied. In the morning of Materice
, a child or siblings suddenly tie their mother in the same manner as they have been tied on Detinjci
. The mother, as if surprised, asks why she has been tied. The children then wish a happy Feast of Materice
to her, and she pays the "ransom" with prepared presents, after which they untie her. They may do the same with married women from their neighborhood, receiving from them usually some smaller gifts, as candies and fruits. Mothers prepare a family feast for dinner on this day. In the morning of Oci
, the Sunday immediately before Christmas Day, a child or siblings together tie their father and married men from their neighborhood, who too must pay the "ransom" to get untied. Women as well may be the tying ones on Oci
. Instead of actually tying a child, woman, or man, it is often sufficient just to show them a rope to receive a present from them. Out of these three holidays, Materice
is the most festive. It is sometimes celebrated even among those who do not celebrate Detinjci
and Oci.
List of terms
The following is a list of Serbian terms related to Christmas, written in the Serbian Latin alphabet and the
Serbian Cyrillic alphabetThe Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is the official modern alphabet used to write the Serbian language. It is an adaptation of the Cyrillic alphabet for the Serbian language, and was developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić from the traditional Cyrillic alphabet...
, with pronunciations in the
IPAThe International Phonetic Alphabet
["The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...]
(see Help:IPA).