Christmas in Serbia
[1] Early in the morning the head of each family, usually accompanied by several male relatives, selects and fells the tree from which the log will be cut for their household.
Stepping across the threshold, right foot first, the man greets his gathered family with the words "Good evening and happy Christmas Eve to you."
[5] The head of the household takes a jug of wine and pours some on the badnjak; in some regions, he may strew wheat grains over the logs.
[2][5] He then proposes a toast: "Grant, O God, that there be health and joy in this home, that our grain and grapevines yield well, that children be born healthy to us, that our property increase in the field, pen, and barn!"
[6] In Petar II Petrović-Njegoš's poem The Mountain Wreath, the plot of which takes place in 18th-century Montenegro, the holiday atmosphere on Christmas Eve is described through the words of Abbot Stefan, a main character of the poem: Ватра плама боље него игда, прострта је слама испод огња, прекршћени на огњу бадњаци; пушке пучу, врте се пецива, гусле гуде, а кола пјевају, с унучађу ђедови играју, по три паса врте се у кола, све би река једногодишници; све радошћу дивном направњено, а што ми се највише допада, што свачему треба наздравити!
[8] Vatra plama bolje nego igda, prostrta je slama ispred ognja, prekršćeni na ognju badnjaci; puške puču, vrte se peciva, gusle gude, a kola pjevaju, s unučađu đedovi igraju, po tri pasa vrte se u kola, sve bi reka jednogodišnici; sve radošću divnom naravnjeno.
In some regions it is a custom that he then goes out into the yard, calls pest animals by name (e.g. wolves, foxes, and hawks) and his personal enemies, inviting them, "Come to dinner now and again in a year, God willing."
[3] Until the beginning of the 20th century in the Pirot District, southeastern Serbia, the head of household would go out to his woodpile,[note 3] where he would invite German (pronounced [ˈɡerman]) – a male mythological being associated with bringing rain and hail.
Besides a round unleavened loaf of bread called badnjački kolač, and salt, which are necessary, this meal may comprise roast fish, cooked beans, sauerkraut, noodles with ground walnuts, honey, and wine.
An old Christmas song from the Kotor Bay has the following lyrics:[5] Božić zove svrh planine, one visoke: „Veselite se, Srbi braćo, vrijeme vi je!
As a reward, the neighbor gives them candies or even money; more traditional gifts include walnuts, prunes, apples, and cakes.
[16] In central Serbia, once the household members have gone to bed, an elderly woman of the family sticks a knife into the house door from the inside.
[18] The Serbs of Timiș County in Romania have since the interwar period adopted the custom of erecting in their homes a Christmas tree, which they call krisindla, after the German Christkindl.
[21] A polažajnik (položajnik), polaženik (položenik), podlaznik, polaznik, pohodnik, or radovan, is the first person who visits the family on Christmas Day.
In rural communities the polaznik goes out into the yard, and throws grain inside a circle made with the rope with which Christmas straw has been tied, calling chickens.
[17] In the west Serbian region of Rađevina, centered on the town of Krupanj, the head of household would place a sheep between himself and the fireplace, and pronounce the aforementioned words while striking the badnjak with a branch cut from it.
On her way back home, the girl who carries the strong water picks several cornel or willow twigs, with which children are lightly struck that morning.
A widespread custom is to put a coin into the dough; regionally, little objects made of cornel wood may be inserted, representing chickens, oxen, cows, swine, bees, etc.
For each male member of the family a round loaf named ratarica may be prepared – the biggest one for the head, and the smallest one for the youngest boy.
For each female member a pletenica may be baked, a loaf shaped like a three-strand braid[17] On Christmas Eve, the men of the family build a fire in their house yard, and roast a pig, or a sheep in some areas, on a long wooden spit.
[6][17] A traditional toast from parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina goes like this:[25] Sjaj Bože i Božiću, kućnjem šljemenu i sjemenu, volu i težaku, kozici i ovčici, putniku namjerniku, ribici u vodici, ptici u gorici!
The face, however, could be made separately out of a dried gourd shell or a piece of wood, and then sewn to hide so that the mask could cover all the head.
[26][28] The koledari sung special songs, in which the word koledo, the vocative case of koleda, was inserted in the middle and at the end of each verse.
Progovara čobanine: „Devojčice, belo lice, ko ti reza bornu suknju, u skutovi razboritu, u pojasu saboritu?“ „Imam brata baš-terziju, te mi reza bornu suknju, u skutovi razboritu, u pojasu saboritu.“ In the following song, also recorded by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, the badnjak and Christmas were referred to as male personages.
Zastasmo te za večerom, gde večeru ti večeraš, belim grlom vino piješ, i očima biser brojiš, i rukama gajtan pleteš.
Men make crosses from the remnant of the thicker side of badnjak, and stick them under eaves, on fields, meadows, vineyards, and apiaries.
[33] On the day before Little Christmas, especially in south-eastern Serbia, a group of young unmarried men went through the streets of their village and chased away demons by making a deafening noise.
The woman of the house baked a big round unleavened loaf of bread with a hole in its center, inscribed with circles, crosses, hooks, and other symbols on its surface.
The woman of the house would "feed them fodder", i.e., prepare a meal for them, consisting of đevenica (a sort of dried sausage), roast pork, and the hollow loaf, plus rakia for the adults.
[24] It's worth noting that majority of Serbian population however does not follow the traditions of "Detinjci, Materice and Oci", and if there's gift giving involved it usually takes place on Christmas Eve.
