Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve

Yesterday we participated in a Serbian Christmas tradition. The Serbs celebrate Christmas today, January 7th, because they still use Julius Cesear’s originally calendar. It was replaced by the modern Gregorian calendar because the Julian calendar required too many adjustments through the years to keep it accurate. One of the remnants of the old Slavic religion is the custom of the burning of the “badnjak” on Christmas Eve (January 6th).

In earlier times when most Serbs lived in the countryside, the father used to head into the woods and fell a young oak tree. The badnjak was a big log that was then thrown onto the fire in the hearth of the home.Today, most Serbs live in the cities and the tradition has changed a bit. The log (kind of like a yule log) is represented by these thin branches arranged like a bouquet of flowers. They sell them all over the city and that is what first got us interested in the custom. We were wondering, what were these dead leaf arrangements?I took the photo below while we were running errands. We bought a couple and found that attached to the bottom was a plastic bag of sunflower seeds and corn kernels with a ribbon.

Another change in modern times is the badnjaks are burned collectively in a church yard instead of the family fireplace. Our nanny Vera, invited us to attend the mass and ceremony at the St. Trifun Church located in Topčider Park near our house. It was a bitterly cold night but we managed to get all the kids out. We first lit candles in a little side house next to the church. The bottom shelf where the candles were placed in sand was for souls of the dead and the top shelf for the living. The boys said a short prayer for their all of their grandparents. The church was too full to attend the mass. I was raised Catholic and am very curious to attend an Orthodox service. We did see the interior of the church and it was much different than a Catholic church.

We did join in the procession following the short service. It wound its way around the church and then into the front yard. It was led by the priest and several altar boys and men carrying banners and incense. After a few words, the bales of hay were ignited and people began throwing their badnjaks on the fire. It is supposed to bring health, wealth, happiness, money, etc. in the upcoming year. Owen and Oliver were thrilled with the large fire and the opportunity to throw in their badnjaks. Owen and I hung out by the fire as we are both pyromaniacs. Nadia, Oliver, and Ocean were cold and went straight back to the car.

The ceremony for me had a greater significance than just experience Serbian culture and an Orthodox church ritual. In the old Slavic religion, trees were sacred. The Serbs today hold a great reverence for trees as I do. It harks back to original Slavic religious thought. In burning of the log,it represents a sacrifice to the gods, and the fire also represents sunshine. With today’s temperature of -7 C and icy fog limiting visibility, I can understand the Slavic tribes reliance on the spring sun. I can also imagine what it was like for them before modern heating and home construction.

I facilitated a course last year for a student at my school in Venezuela (Evan Huff). He was interested in Vikings and we did a Teaching Company course on the history of the Vikings. Part of the lectures dealt with Norse religion. It made me wonder what the world and Europe would be like without Christianity. A part of me is disappointed that a Middle Eastern religion conquered the world. It would be interesting to see what would have happened if the Slavs and other peoples of Europe never converted to Christianity. The preferred tree for the badnjak is the Oak Tree, which is strongly associated with the supreme Slavic god, Perun. Perun is similar to the Norse god Thor.