How Christmas is celebrated | Tourist Calendar of Serbia

Two of the most important holidays, which occupy a central place in our national calendar, are Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Christmas Eve and Christmas customs intertwine, but they make a unique whole. Many Serbian customs that would start on Christmas Eve were transferred to Christmas.

Most of the customs associated with Christmas Eve and Christmas are based on the understanding that these days mark the beginning of a new year and that it is when the progress of a household and a family is decided. The most significant ritual that has been preserved among the Serbs to this day is connected to the Christmas holy tree, badnjak.

Celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas today, under modified living conditions, especially in urban areas, takes on a modified form. You will probably buy the badnjak at the market. Fish, prebranac (baked beans), cabbage can be bought at the store. If you celebrate your patron saint's day, you will have an icon and a candle that you will light for the Christmas celebration, as a symbol of fire and hearth. You will fumigate the house with incense, say prayers, and spend the evening with your family in peace and good health.

Christmas Eve

According to one interpretation, the name Christmas Eve comes from the Old Slavic word "to watch," while according to another, Christmas Eve got its name because it is the day when the badnjak (Yule log) is cut and brought into the house.

It is assumed that among the ancient, polytheistic Serbs, there was a god of Badnjak, depicted as a wooden statue. When the Serbs embraced Christianity, they threw the Badnja into the fire on Christmas Eve and repeated this custom every Christmas Eve.

The Church gives a different meaning to the badnjak: by warming themselves around the badnjak, the household members warm themselves with love, and by its light, they drive away ignorance and superstition.

Badnjak - the holy tree

Symbolically, the badnjak represents the tree that the shepherds brought to Joseph and that was kindled in the cave when Christ was born.

On Christmas Eve, the holy tree is cut, brought into the house, and with this day, the Christmas celebration already begins. Early in the morning, male members of the household go to the forest to get the badnjak. A young and straight oak tree is chosen, and if there is no oak, any type of oak can be taken.

When the appropriate tree is chosen, the host turns to the east, crosses themselves three times, mentions God, their patron saint, and Christmas, takes an axe, and cuts the Yule log. The host ensures that the tree falls directly to the ground when it is cut. It was considered a good sign if the Yule log acquired a "beard" at the point of the cut – it would then resemble a supernatural being as it was once imagined. While the men are in the forest, the women light the fire, prepare the roast, make Christmas cookies, cakes, and generally prepare the food that will be served for Christmas.

On the evening before Christmas, the Yule log is brought into the house along with straw. The gathered household members ceremoniously welcome the host who brings in the Yule log, "head" first, placing it on the hearth. The established ritual actions follow, kissing the Yule log, which aim to bring progress, prosperity, health, and happiness to the family and household. After the gift-giving is done, the Yule log is set on fire. Here, the belief is clearly expressed that the Yule log, as a kind of divine being, must be burned or sacrificed in order to be "reborn" again.

The Yule log is characteristic for celebrating Christmas in the Serbian people, while in Greece, Russia, and Bulgaria it is the Christmas tree.

Fish and Dried Fruit

The table is always fasting on Christmas Eve. Depending on the region, fish, honey, garlic, beans, cabbage, and dried fruits such as plums, figs, walnuts, and apples were consumed. For Christmas Eve, a bread is baked and left on the table until Epiphany – a wish for progress and abundance throughout the coming year.

In the Serbian people, it is said that people who are close and connected are like "Christmas and Christmas Eve".

Christmas

Christmas is a holiday of new life, children, parenthood, fatherhood, and motherhood.

The Day of Christ's Birth, Christmas, was considered by Serbian peasants, along with Easter, to be the greatest calendar holiday, and they celebrated it for three days. Christmas was always a non-working day, but it was believed that some tasks should be started on Christmas in order for the household to be successful throughout the year.

Ethnologist Mile Nedeljković writes about Christmas: "One of the most beautiful Christmas customs is the sharing of peace with the aim of maintaining peace, preventing hatred, and ending discord among people, so people greeted each other with: Peace of God, Christ is born! And they shook hands and kissed. In the vicinity of Shkodra, Serbs on God's day went from house to house, sharing peace, using the custom to greet and kiss those who were quarreling, thereby reconciling them. Because this is a day of general reconciliation and forgiveness."

During the celebration of Christmas, wars were interrupted by the mercy attributed to Christianity. Christmas is sworn by. People greet each other with the words: "Christ is born!" and respond: "Indeed He is born!"

Česnica

Česnica is a ritual bread made on the first day of Christmas before sunrise, made from white flour, water, and fat. The name itself comes from the words "čest" (luck), "deo" (part), "sreća" (happiness), as it is broken into parts according to the number of household members. Česnica symbolizes the birth of young Christ when he was presented with gifts by shepherds, and there is a belief that it represents a good crop. Česnica is rotated, poured with wine, and finally broken into as many pieces as there are household members. The person who receives the piece of Česnica with a coin inside is believed to have luck throughout the current year.

Since the Great Fast ends on Christmas, attention is also given to the festive table. The Christmas fast was established as a forty-day fast at the Council of 1166 and represents the preparation for the great feast of Christ's birth. The fast aims at purifying the body and soul by abstaining from physical and mental temptations and sins.

On the host's table, for Christmas, roast meat, dried fruit, česnica, homemade soup are served, and today, in addition to these, sarma (cabbage rolls), rolled veal, various types of salads, and of course, cake.

Položajnik

The person who enters the host's house first thing in the morning on the first day of Christmas is called the položajnik. This role is usually given to an adult man or a male child. He comes to the house with the intention of bringing luck, progress, and health to the family. The položajnik brings a cake, brandy, money for the Yule log, and wheat that he scatters around the house. He enters the host's house with his right foot, approaches the hearth, and leaves the money.

During the Christmas holidays, in addition to the položajnik, households also receive groups of young men called koledari. They, dressed in special costumes, go from house to house, singing songs for progress, health, and happiness.

The second day of Christmas is spent in a solemn and peaceful atmosphere at home, and in churches, a Thanksgiving Liturgy (akathist) to the Mother of God is served. On this day, friends and neighbors are visited, and guests are welcomed into the house. The third day is St. Stephen's Day, which is the first patron saint celebration after Christmas and in the new year, and it is celebrated on January 9th. On St. Stephen's Day, the remains of the Yule log are taken out of the house.

What to do on Christmas

• Everything that has troubled you throughout the year should be done on Christmas morning.
• Fruit trees are watered with the water in which the dough for Česnica was kneaded, in order to bear fruit better.
• In the past, the Christmas candle played a significant role in Christmas customs. Some families lit it on Christmas Eve or during lunch on the first day of Christmas.
• If it rains on Christmas, it is believed that everything that is dug with a hoe will yield a good harvest.
• If you have had a disagreement with someone during the year, you should reconcile with them on Christmas Eve.
• An odd number of dishes should be prepared for Christmas Eve dinner.
• On that day, it is good to plant a plant because it is believed that it will surely thrive.
• From Christmas to St. Stephen's Day, the house should not be cleaned.

Christmas according to the Julian calendar is also celebrated in Serbia, Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Ukraine, and Russia.