I started off this morning/late last night with a six hour skype call with two of my favorite people. Terin and Candace thanks for your ridiculousness. There were also surprise appearances from Cole and Lola, Devin, Nick and Aaron. It was a long distance party.
This morning/afternoon I went to the Israel's in order to play soccer with Kyle. It was to be our first actual outside play because we normally play in their entry way in our socks. All five of us went down to the field (Connor, me, Kyle, Kyleigh, and Brooke) and played for most of the afternoon. We're well on our way to converting Kyleigh and we all only suffered minor injuries.
This evening I had Christmas dinner with the Stevens, Israel's, and our Macedonian friend. You may be wondering how it happened that we were celebrating Christmas again today. I was trying to explain it to Candace and Terin last night, but really all I remember is the horror and confusion on Candace's face as I told her I was in both her past and her future. But really, let me see if I can clear this up for everybody back home.
Begin serious fact sharing:
Most of the world celebrates Christmas on December 25th, Serbs (and other Orthodox communities) actually celebrate Christmas on January 7th (because they are on the Julian calendar). This day is actually the beginning of a three day feast which marks the end of a fast that began on November 28th. They fast from meat, dairy products and eggs. Restaurant menus reflect this observance and offer special dishes that do not contain any of these ingredients. Most devout Orthodox (more than 90% of Serbia professes to be Orthodox) will observe this 40 day fast and even those that don't will fast on January 6th.
Instead of greeting each other with the usual "hello" or "good day", Serbs use the traditional greeting of "Christ is born, happy Christmas" for all three days of Christmas. The appropriate response is "Truly, he is born".
Early Christmas Eve morning all of Serbia searches for the Badnjak, an oak tree branch with golden leaves that is of huge importance for a proper Serbian Christmas. In rural areas, villagers go to the woods and cut their own branches. In cities and towns like Belgrade, you can find people selling them on every corner and outside of every market. The Badnjak plays several roles in the holiday, which we'll get to, but it is brought into the house prior to the family dinner on Christmas Eve. The men bring it in with straw and pecenica (a traditional pork meat dish that is served on Christmas day).
The men cover the floor with straw to make it resemble the stable where Jesus was born. While they are doing this the women and children greet them by making clucking sounds. The clucking sound is a symbol of how Jesus wanted to gather everyone together and spread love among them, much like a mother hen does with her chicks.
Before the family dinner, part of the Badnjak is burned. This is a symbol of the gifts the shepherds brought to Joseph in order to heat the stable. According to the church this act warms the family with love, sincerity, and harmony, while the light from the fire is meant to get rid of the darkness of ignorance and superstition. However, some say ancient Serbs believed in a god called Badnja. They supposedly threw their beloved deity on the fire after converting to Christianity. However, such was their love for Badnja that they could not forget him and repeat their act of farewell year after year.
After the burning, the family gathers around the table for a meal of fish, beans, potatoes, and dried or fresh fruit. After dinner, they go to the church where the Badnjak is burned on a huge fire at midnight.
On Christmas day the church bells start ringing at dawn and the families eagerly await the arrival of the polozajnik, their first visitor. He/She symbolizes the three wise men from the East that came to worship the baby Jesus. He/she is supposed to bring the family good luck for the year to come, to ensure this most families ask someone ahead of time so there is no surprise. The polozajnik must cross the threshold with his right leg first. He/she must then re-light the Badnjak and make sparks fly from it. The more sparks from the fire the richer, healthier and happier the family will be. When the polozajnik leaves he receives gifts. Most traditional Serbs believe it is better if the polozajnik is male.
Christmas day lunch is pretty much the highlight. Before the meal begins, the family shares a special loaf of bread, the cesnica, which is baked with a coin inside. Every one takes a piece and whoever receives the coin will receive good luck in the coming year. After the coin is found and the prayers are said the lunch starts. The main course is pecenica-roasted pork-that is cooked over a fire the entire day. Only the pecenica is obligatory, but the Christmas feast must be a rich and sumptuous affair.
It is believed that everything a person starts on Christmas day will be blessed in the coming year, when the meal finishes everyone should begin the work they will be doing throughout the year. Most Serbs don't believe in working on Christmas day so instead they spend it with the people they love doing the things they love best.
Disclaimer: These are some of the traditions associated with a Serbian Christmas. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. As with American traditions not every family celebrates in the same way. Some of them may do all of these things, some only a few, others none at all. This is simply a glimpse into how Serbian Christmas differs from our own.
A special thanks to the Belgrade Insight for all the wonderful info.
This morning/afternoon I went to the Israel's in order to play soccer with Kyle. It was to be our first actual outside play because we normally play in their entry way in our socks. All five of us went down to the field (Connor, me, Kyle, Kyleigh, and Brooke) and played for most of the afternoon. We're well on our way to converting Kyleigh and we all only suffered minor injuries.
This evening I had Christmas dinner with the Stevens, Israel's, and our Macedonian friend. You may be wondering how it happened that we were celebrating Christmas again today. I was trying to explain it to Candace and Terin last night, but really all I remember is the horror and confusion on Candace's face as I told her I was in both her past and her future. But really, let me see if I can clear this up for everybody back home.
Begin serious fact sharing:
Most of the world celebrates Christmas on December 25th, Serbs (and other Orthodox communities) actually celebrate Christmas on January 7th (because they are on the Julian calendar). This day is actually the beginning of a three day feast which marks the end of a fast that began on November 28th. They fast from meat, dairy products and eggs. Restaurant menus reflect this observance and offer special dishes that do not contain any of these ingredients. Most devout Orthodox (more than 90% of Serbia professes to be Orthodox) will observe this 40 day fast and even those that don't will fast on January 6th.
Instead of greeting each other with the usual "hello" or "good day", Serbs use the traditional greeting of "Christ is born, happy Christmas" for all three days of Christmas. The appropriate response is "Truly, he is born".
Early Christmas Eve morning all of Serbia searches for the Badnjak, an oak tree branch with golden leaves that is of huge importance for a proper Serbian Christmas. In rural areas, villagers go to the woods and cut their own branches. In cities and towns like Belgrade, you can find people selling them on every corner and outside of every market. The Badnjak plays several roles in the holiday, which we'll get to, but it is brought into the house prior to the family dinner on Christmas Eve. The men bring it in with straw and pecenica (a traditional pork meat dish that is served on Christmas day).
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| Random kid with Badnjak. |
Before the family dinner, part of the Badnjak is burned. This is a symbol of the gifts the shepherds brought to Joseph in order to heat the stable. According to the church this act warms the family with love, sincerity, and harmony, while the light from the fire is meant to get rid of the darkness of ignorance and superstition. However, some say ancient Serbs believed in a god called Badnja. They supposedly threw their beloved deity on the fire after converting to Christianity. However, such was their love for Badnja that they could not forget him and repeat their act of farewell year after year.
After the burning, the family gathers around the table for a meal of fish, beans, potatoes, and dried or fresh fruit. After dinner, they go to the church where the Badnjak is burned on a huge fire at midnight.
On Christmas day the church bells start ringing at dawn and the families eagerly await the arrival of the polozajnik, their first visitor. He/She symbolizes the three wise men from the East that came to worship the baby Jesus. He/she is supposed to bring the family good luck for the year to come, to ensure this most families ask someone ahead of time so there is no surprise. The polozajnik must cross the threshold with his right leg first. He/she must then re-light the Badnjak and make sparks fly from it. The more sparks from the fire the richer, healthier and happier the family will be. When the polozajnik leaves he receives gifts. Most traditional Serbs believe it is better if the polozajnik is male.
Christmas day lunch is pretty much the highlight. Before the meal begins, the family shares a special loaf of bread, the cesnica, which is baked with a coin inside. Every one takes a piece and whoever receives the coin will receive good luck in the coming year. After the coin is found and the prayers are said the lunch starts. The main course is pecenica-roasted pork-that is cooked over a fire the entire day. Only the pecenica is obligatory, but the Christmas feast must be a rich and sumptuous affair.
It is believed that everything a person starts on Christmas day will be blessed in the coming year, when the meal finishes everyone should begin the work they will be doing throughout the year. Most Serbs don't believe in working on Christmas day so instead they spend it with the people they love doing the things they love best.
Disclaimer: These are some of the traditions associated with a Serbian Christmas. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. As with American traditions not every family celebrates in the same way. Some of them may do all of these things, some only a few, others none at all. This is simply a glimpse into how Serbian Christmas differs from our own.
A special thanks to the Belgrade Insight for all the wonderful info.
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