Sveti Trifun vs Sveti Valentin / Saint Tryphon vs. Saint Valentine
O ur people are known for not missing out on a reason to cel- ebrate. In Serbia we live and work according to the Grego- rian calendar, but in accordance with the Julian calendar we celebrate Orthodox Christmas, while some people still have the strength and desire to adhere to this old calendar and, two weeks after the of- ficial beginning of the year, celebrate an- other New Year’s Eve. Here it is important that something is always happening and being celebrated, which also led to us start adopting holidays that are not part of the local tradition.
ary is celebrated in the Orthodox Christian world as the day of holy Saint Tryphon - Trifun, Tripun or Trivun, as he is called in various regions of Serbia. He is believed to protect against flooding, as the guardian of crops and protector of winegrowers, but he is increasingly celebrated by innkeep- ers and wine merchants. Although it is not marked by a red letter in the church calen- dar, this holiday is traditionally celebrated in winegrowing regions by the symbolic pruning of vines. It is believed that from the date of this holiday the snow begins to melt, that this day marks the start of spring, that nature starts to awaken, so the pulse of love beats ever stronger. If that is so, then it is confirmation that Tryphon can also be celebrated as a guardian of love. CONDEMNED TO ETERNAL LOVE It was the English who first started cel- ebrating Valentine. As admirers of tradition, many Brits still believe in the legend that emerged six centuries ago. According to this legend, two young people who met early on the morning of 14 th February were condemned to eternal love! Of course, the legend offers no explanation as to why they were condemned or why their punishment was that sublime feeling. For St. Tryphon, however, there is a story that he was en- dowed with great healing powers, so in our nation on this day a lot of people seek his help in the name of healing the misery of love. Soothsayers insist that love is not a mir- acle, but that it can work miracles. Regardless of which of these two saints is celebrated, today they have a common de- nominator in the consumer machine. Those hearts and balloons overshadow the glo- ry of the saints themselves. However, the magic of love really works miracles, which is why it is not resisted... ever.
počinje da se topi, da tog dana po- činje proleće, da se budi priroda, pa i ljubavni damari jače tuku. Ako je tako, eto potvrde da i Trifuna može- mo da slavimo kao zaštitnika ljubavi. OSUĐENI NA VEČNU LJUBAV Praznovanje Svetog Valentina za- počeli su Englezi. Kao poštovaoci tra- dicije, i danas mnogi Ostrvljani veru- ju u legendu nastalu pre šest vekova.
WE DON’T LAG BEHIND THE WORLD
It must be admitted that none of them was so quickly accepted as Valentine’s Day, celebrating the patron saint of love. The date of 14 th February is celebrated around the world as “Saint Valentine’s Day”, while in our country it is celebrated as“The Day of Lovers”. And it doesn’t matter that the Orthodox saint of the same name is only celebrated on 13 th August, because this Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, has long had his own followers in Serbia. We decided not to lag behind the rest of the world in statements of love, so in our coun- try everything bursts with commemora- tive iconography on 14 th February. There are hearts all over the place! Made of silk, velvet, chocolate, red roses ... Declarations of love are also displayed on billboards, just like they are in the West. IN CELEBRATION OF SPRING And what about Saint Tryphon? His power is celebrated by winegrowers. On the same day that Catholics and Protes- tants celebrate St. Valentine, 14th Febru-
Po njoj je dvoje mladih ko- ji se sretnu u rano jutro 14. februara osuđeno na večnu ljubav! Naravno, legende nemaju objašnjenja zašto su osuđeni kao na kaznu tim uzvišenim osećanjem. Za Svetog Trifuna se pak vezuje priča da je bio obda- ren velikim isceliteljskim moćima, pa se u našem na- rodu na taj dan mnogo ga- ta radi isceljenja ljubavnih jada. Gatare kažu da ljubav nije čudo, ali zato čini ču- desa. Bez obzira na to koji se od ova dva sveca slavi, da- nas im je zajednički imeni-
We love festivals and celebrations, so we easily become endeared to holidays that are not in our tradition. Just let there be joy! Volimo fešte, pa nam se lako omile i praznici koji nisu u našoj tradiciji. Samo nek je veselja!
telj potrošačka mašinerija. Ona srca i baloni zasenjuju slavu samih sveta- ca. Ali ljubavna magija zaista čini ču- da i zato joj se ne opirite. Nikad...
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