SLAVLJE / CELEBRATION
should be started symbolically af- ter Christmas lunch in order to en- sure that the people will be diligent throughout the year; the holiday is celebrated in the circle of the imme- diate family and the table shouldn’t be cleared from Christmas Eve un- til St. Stephen's Day (9 th January), and nor should the house be cleaned. ČESNICA The name of this ritual bread is of Slavic origin and comes from the term čest – meaning part or share, which points to the tradition of shar- ing the loaf among all those partic- ipating in the ceremony. The česni- ca is never cut, but rather broken by hand. In bygone times it was broken exclusively by men, with the oldest among them deciding which piece would go to which member of the household. Back then, the česnica, which today contains only a single coin, was made with many so-called marks inside, i.e., small ornamen- tal elements symbolising crops and traditional rural tasks. The česnica is baked from unleavened dough in some parts of Serbia, with just a little salt and oil added, while else- where it is enriched with milk, eggs and yeast. In some households it is even made as a sweet cake, contain- ing honey and walnuts. THE EPIPHANY (19 th January) The Epiphany celebrates an event that occurred immediately after John the Baptist baptised Jesus Christ in the River Jordan. According to tradi- tional belief, the skies opened on the night of the Epiphany and the Ho- ly Spirit descended to Jesus Christ in the form of a dove, and the voice of God could be heard from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. And that’s pre- cisely why we should all think of a wish on Epiphany eve, then look to the sky at midnight and wish for it to come true. The Epiphany is celebrated on 19 th January as a fixed holiday, mean- ing that the date doesn’t change from year to year. On the date of the Ele- vation of the Holy Cross, during the
U ponoć u hramovima počinje božićna liturgija jer je, prema jevanđelju, Isus rođen tačno u ponoć At midnight, the Christmas liturgy begins in the temples because, according to the Gospel, Jesus was born exactly at midnight
build up to the Epiphany, but also on the holiday itself, following the lit- urgy, a great blessing of water takes place in the temples or churchyards of places of worship. That water is collected and taken home. It is kept as a miraculous, sacred treasure. It is consumed throughout the entire year for healing purposes and pro- tection against all diseases, but also to purify the body and soul. SWIMMING FOR THE CROSS The most famous element of the Epiphany is swimming for the Holy Cross, which is organised nationwide across Serbia. Although it is usually extremely cold outside, a gathering of brave and bold individuals, most- ly men, swim for the cross. This is ac- tually an ancient custom of the Old Slavic peoples, who would take their idols from their homes and temples to the river to wash them, which was preserved after conversion to Chris- tianity in the form of swimming for the cross and washing icons on the holiday of St. John. SAINT JOHN (20 th JANUARY) Orthodox believers celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist on 20 th January, because it is believed that it was on this date that he bap- tised Christ in the River Jordan. He was born six months before Christ, which is why he was called the Fore- runner, as he prepared people for the coming of the Saviour. He had such moral purity that he could be called an angel rather than a mortal man. "What should we do to gain the grace of God?” asked the people. And John answered them: "Anyone who has two shirts should give one to he
who has none, and whoever has plen- ty of food should share with he who has little." Like many Christians who suffered on the path of the Lord, John the Baptist was beheaded during the reign of Emperor Herod. He remains as an example of a man of solid and unwavering faith, honesty, courage and truthfulness. Saint John is one of the most popular family patron saints’ days in Serbia – ranked fourth in terms of the number of celebrants. SAINT SAVA (27 th JANUARY) The Feast of Saint Sava is a Ser- bian Orthodox Church holiday cele- brated on 27 th January and commem- orating this prince of the Nemanjić dynasty, educator and first Serbian archbishop. It was on this date in the year 1236, 27 th January (14 th accord- ing to the Julian calendar), that Saint Sava passed away in the Bulgarian city of Trnovo. The famous Hymn to Saint Sava was first sung in the early 19 th century, while his feast became a school holiday in Serbia according to an 1840 law. Born in 1175 as Rastko Neman- jić, he was the youngest son of the Great Prefect Stefan Nemanja and would regularly attend church ser- vices already as a child, while he took a particular interest in icons. He met a monk at the age of 17 and soon af- terwards accompanied him to Holy Mount Athos, where in 1192 he be- came a monk and received the name Sava. He became a deacon and priest of Hilandar Monastery at the begin- ning of the 13 th century, only to be proclaimed the first Serbian arch- bishop in Nicaea in 1219. He is to thank for the Serbian Orthodox Church becoming autocephalous, i.e. independent.
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