Serbia

The Serbian Dinar is the currency of Serbia.

The smallest coin is 1 dinar, the largest banknote is 5,000 dinar.

The international trading code is RSD.

The Serbs celebrate Christmas for three consecutive days, beginning with Christmas Day. The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar, as per which Christmas Day (December 25) falls currently on January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar. This day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas, and the following two are accordingly called the second, and the third day of Christmas. During this festive time, one is to greet another person with "Christ is Born!", which should be responded to with "Truly He is Born". These greetings in Serbian: "Христос се роди!" - "Ваистину се роди". The Serbian name for Christmas is Božić (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet: Божић), which means the young or little God. This holiday surpasses all other holidays celebrated by Serbs, with respect to the diversity of applied folk customs and rituals. These may vary from region to region, some of them having modern versions adapted to the contemporary way of living.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is called by Serbs Badnji dan during the daylight, and Badnje veče in the evening. On Christmas Eve members of a household make preparations for the oncoming celebration. Badnjak The head of household, accompanied by some of its mail members, goes into a forest before the sunrise to find, fell, and bring home a young, strait Turkey oak tree, or oak tree of any sort in a lack of Turkey oaks. This felled tree is called badnjak, and is one of the central features of the celebration. When people set off from home to get a badnjak, they announce it by shooting their guns or simple small mortars called prangija, used almost exclusively for celebrations; whole regions thus resound with these blasts. A badnjak should be of such a size that allows it to be carried on a shoulder. The tree chosen to become a badnjakis cut slantwise with three blows of an axe. If it is not cut down after the third blow, it must not be cut further, but pulled and twisted until it breaks off. This method is preferred over the cutting down, because the resulting badnjak has so-called beard, the place on the tree at which it broke off. It is observed that the tree falls east, without being stopped in its fall by surrounding trees. The first splinter produced by cutting a badnjak is picked up and kept; it is believed to possess a beneficial power for the material well-being of household. The branches of a badnjak may be lopped off, or not, depending on the regional custom. The badnjak, with or without branches, is then taken home, and leaned vertically against the house beside its entrance door. In some regions two, three, or an arbitrary number of badnjaks are felled for one household. In the evening, the head of household, or another man of the family, brings the badnjak into the house. This man is called badnjačar. Stepping across the threshold with his right foot first, he greets the family gathered in the house, "Happy Christmas Eve to you." They greet him back, "May God give you well-being, and may you have good luck." A woman of the family throws grain from a sieve onto both the badnjačar and the badnjak. The badnjačar then lays down the badnjak, putting its thicker side on the fire that burns on the house's fireplace called ognjište. An ognjištehas a fire-resistant floor, but has no vertical surround and no chimney, so the fire burning on it is similar to a campfire. badnjačar leaves a short length of the badnjak at its thicker end outside the ognjište. Having put it on the fire, he moves the badnjak a little forward; this move is intended to summon prosperity for the household. If there are more than one of them, the other badnjaks are put on fire without these rituals. At the side of ognjište where the thicker end of badnjak is situated, the family puts a plowshare and a sieve containing grain, honey, cakes, wine, salt, prunes, walnuts, and apples. Some of grain from the sieve is thrown on the badnjak, and honey is spread on its cut surface. In Montenegro, the badnjačar takes a jug of wine, toasts to the badnjak, and having drunk, pours some wine on it as if giving it to drink. In littoral regions of Montenegro, girls and women wrap it with red silk and threads, and adorn it with laurel leaves and flowers. It ought not to be jumped over or trodden upon. When a part of it burns up, the next part is pushed into the fire to keep it burning, but not the thicker end. In some regions, however, people do not keep the badnjak burning through all the night. These ancient traditions have modern, reduced versions, since houses today usually have no ognjište to burn a badnjak on. The badnjak is symbolically represented by several oak twigs, some of which are burnt in a wood-burning kitchen stove, the others being placed beside the stove. For the convenience of people who live in towns and cities, these twigs can be bought at marketplaces, or received in churches. Christmas straw During the daylight a man of the family takes a large armful of straw from a stack, and ties it with a rope. Right after the badnjak has been brought into the house, the same is done with this bundle of straw, with the same rituals. In some regions, it is carried three times around the house before it is taken in. Having put it down on the floor, the man who brought the bundle in imitates a hen clucking to call her chicks. Children of the family approach him imitating chicks and pick at the straw, which is then strewn all over the floor. Some people throw walnuts on this straw. Next, the head of household goes into his barn, and pours wine and grain on his livestock. Dinner Once the badnjak and straw have been taken into the house, the Christmas Eve dinner may begin. The head of household makes the Sign of the Cross, lights a candle, and incenses the whole house. In some regions it is a custom that he then goes out into the yard, calls by name pest animals (e.g. wolves, foxes, and hawks) and his personal enemies, inviting them, "Come to dinner now and again in a year, God willing." This is intended to protect the household from them for a year. Until the beginning of 20th century in the area around Pirot (south-eastern Serbia), the head of household would go out to his firewood shed to invite German - a male Legendary mythological being associated with bringing rain and hail. He would take with him a loaf of bread called good luck, prepared particularly for this ritual, slivovitz, wine, and a wax candle. At the shed, he would shout three times, "German, German, wherever you are, come to dinner right now, and in the summer do not let me see your eyes anywhere!" He would then light the candle, take a sip of slivovitz, taste some bread, drink wine, and go back into his house. Asked what happened with German, he would answer, "He came, so we dined and drank amply of slivovitz and wine, and then we parted." This ritual was intended to prevent summer hailstorms. Before the table is served, it is strewn with a thin layer of straw and covered with a white cloth. The family members sit down at the table, but before tucking in, they all rise and a man or boy among them says a prayer. Christmas Eve being a fast day, the dinner is prepared in accordance with that, but it is copious and diverse in foods. Besides a round, unleavened loaf of bread and salt, which are necessary, this meal may comprise e.g. roast fish, cooked beans, sauerkraut, noodles with ground walnuts, honey, and wine. After the dinner, Christmas and other songs are sung, while the elderly narrate stories form the olden times. Once the household members have gone to bed, an elderly woman of the family sticks a knife into the house door from the inside. Alternatively, she puts a hawthorn stake by the door, hanging a wreath of garlic on it. This is done as a protection against curses, witches, and demons. For the same reason, children are rubbed with garlic on the palms, armpits, and soles before going to bed. In some regions, men keep watch in shifts by the ognjište during the night, to keep the fire burning.

Christmas

Christmas Day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas. Since the Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian, the first day of Christmas (December 25) coincides with January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. The celebration is announced at dawn by church bells, and by shooting from guns and prangijas. The head of household and some of the family go to church to attend the Morning Liturgy. In the meantime, men build a fire in the house yard, and roast a pig impaled on a long wooden spit, rotating it slowly by the fire. This roasted pig, called pečenica, is a necessary part of Christmas dinner. Another essential feature of this festive dinner is a česnica, which is a round, leavened loaf of bread. While dough for a česnica is kneaded, a golden or silver coin is put into it. Some people put also little objects made of European Cornelcornel wood, representing chickens, oxen, cows, swine, bees, etc. In some regions, in addition to a česnica, a number of smaller loaves are made with a different symbol inscribed on the upper side of each of them, representing: a vineyard, barrel, hoof, ox, cow with a calf, sow with a piglet, ewe with a lamb, mare with a foal, hen with chicks, plow, hand of a sower, goose, or pigeon. Various other kinds of Christmas loaves can be regionally found, each with its specific name and purpose within the celebration. No one is to eat anything before tasting the prosphora, which the head of household brings from church for those who stayed at home. On Christmas Day children sing this little song: Божић, Божић бата, носи киту злата да позлати врата, и од боја до боја, и сву кућу до крова! Translated: Christmas, Christmas is treading, bringing a clump of gold to make golden the door, and also, from floor to floor, all the house to the rooftop! Strong water A girl or woman goes early in the morning to a resource of water, as a well, spring, or stream. Putting by the resource an ear of maize and a bunch of basil which she brought from home, she collects water with a bucket, and takes it home to her family. This water collected on early Christmas morning is called strong water, believed to possess a special beneficial power. Each member of the family washes the face with it, and drinks it before breakfast; infants are bathed in it. Dough for a česnica is made with it. On her way back home, the girl who carries strong water picks several cornel or willow twigs, with which children are gently struck that morning. This is intended to strengthen their health. There is a Serbian saying for a healthy person: zdrav kao dren, "as healthy as cornel". Polažajnik A polažajnik, called also polaženik, polaznik, or radovan, is the first person who visits a family during Christmas. This visit may be fortuitous or pre-arranged. People expect that it will summon prosperity and well-being for their household in the ensuing year. A family often picks in advance a man or boy, and arranges that he visit them on Christmas morning. If this proves to be lucky for the family, he is invited again next year to be the polažajnik. If not, they send word to him not to come any more in that capacity. A polažajnik steps into the house with his right foot first, greeting the gathered family, "Christ is Born, Happy Christmas," while throwing grain from his glove on them. "Truly He is Born," the family members respond, as they throw grain on him. The polažajnik then approaches the ognjište, takes a poker, and strikes repeatedly the burning badnjak to make it spark, while saying these words (or similar): Колико варница, толико среће у овој кући. Колико варница, толико у домаћинском џепу новаца. Колико варница, толико у тору оваца. Колико варница, толико прасади и јагањаца. Колико варница, толико гусака и пилади, а највише здравља и весеља. Translated: How many sparks, so much happiness in this house. How many sparks, so much money in the family head's pocket. How many sparks, so many sheep in the Pen (enclosure)pen. How many sparks, so many pigs and lambs. How many sparks, so many geese and chickens, and, most of all, health and joy. Having said that, he moves the badnjak a little forward and throws a coin into the fire. A woman puts a woolen blanket on the polažajnik's back, and seats him on a low stool by the ognjište. In the moment when he sits down, they try to pull away the stool beneath him, as if to make him fall on the floor. The polažajnik then goes out into the yard, and throws grain inside a circle made with the rope with which Christmas straw was tied, calling chickens. When they gather in the circle, he catches a rooster, and cuts his head off on the house's threshold. The rooster will be roasted on a wooden spit as a part of Christmas dinner. A polažajnik usually stays for dinner at his hosts' home. He is gifted a round cake with an embedded coin, and a towel, shirt, socks, or some other useful thing. A modern version of this custom is adapted to houses without an ognjište. Several oak twigs, which symbolically represent a badnjak, are put on fire in a wood-burning kitchen stove. The polažajnik stirs them with a poker, saying the aforementioned words. A custom to use a domestic animal as a polažajnik was kept in some regions until the beginning of 20th century. An ox, swine, or calf was led into the house on Christmas morning. Ethnologists consider that the animal polažajnik is more ancient than the human one. Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is the most celebratory dinner a family has during a year. In the early afternoon the family members sit down at the table. When the head of household gives a sign, all rise. He lights a candle, incenses his family and house, and prays the Lord's Prayer. After that, they all kiss each other on the cheek saying, "The peace of God be among us, Christ is Born." They then hold together the česnica, rotate it three times counterclockwise, and break it. A piece of česnica is set aside for absent family members, another piece for a stranger who might become their guest, and the rest is used during the dinner. In some regions, however, a half of this festive loaf is set aside and eaten on New Year's Day as per Julian calendar, i. e. January 14 on the Gregorian calendar. It is said that the one who finds the coin hidden in the česnica will have an exceptionally good luck in the ensuing year. The main course of Christmas dinner is roast pork of the pečenica, the head and the right Boston butt of which are cut off and saved for New Year's Day. During the dinner, the head of household proposes a toast to his family with a glass of wine several times. The verbalization of these toasts is usually traditional, for example this one from Herzegovina and Montenegro:

Сјај Боже и Божићу, кућњем шљемену и сјемену, волу и тежаку, козици и овчици, путнику намјернику, рибици у водици, птици у горици! Сјај Боже и Божићу, Мени домаћину и моме племену и шљемену! Translated: Shine, O God and Christmas, on the rooftop and the children of a house, on an ox and farmer, goat and sheep, on a traveler, a fish in water, a bird in a mountain! Shine, O God and Christmas, on me, the head of household, and on my family and rooftop! After Christmas dinner, the remaining food should not be removed from the table - only the used tableware is taken away. The food is covered with a white cloth, and eaten in the evening as supper. Koledo The koledo is a custom that a group of young men, masked, costumed, and armed with wooden swords, go from house to house of their village congratulating Christmas to villagers. Participants in koledo are called koledari. They sing special, koledo songs, and fence with each other using their wooden swords. In this way they make a performance in front of every house. One among them may be dressed like a bride, so the whole group imitates a wedding party. The beginning of one of koledo songs goes like this: Добар вече, коледо, домаћине, коледо! Затекосмо где вечера, на трпези вино пије, твој говедар код говеда. краве ти се истелиле, све волове витороге; кобиле се иждребиле, све коњице путоноге; овце ти се изјагњиле, све овчице свилоруне. Translated: Good evening, koledo, head of household, koledo! We have found him having dinner, and drinking wine at a table, your cowherd, beside your cattle. Мay your cows all calve nothing but slim-horned oxen; may your mares all foal nothing but strong-legged stallions; may your ewes all lamb nothing but silk-wooled sheep. Vertep A group of boys dressed in variegated costumes goes from house to house of their village carrying a vertep- a litter (vehicle) that represents the manger in which newborn Jesus Christ was placed. In front of every house they sing Christmas songs, and recite poems that praise the birth of Christ. This custom is called vertep, and the participants - vertepaši. The name vertep comes from Church Slavonic word вєртє́пъ, meaning cave, referring to the cave where the manger was sited (the Church of Nativity at Bethlehem has been built over that cave). Similarly to koledari, vertepaši are armed with wooden swords and fence with each other in front of houses. Second and third day of ChristmasOn the second day of Christmas, families visit each other at their homes. On the third day, Christmas straw is taken out of houses. Little bundles are made with it, and hung on fruit trees to make them fruit better. A bigger bundle of it is left in a dry place, and burned on St. George's Day, as a protection of fields against hail. Another bundle is taken away across the nearest stream - a symbolic elimination of all the vermin that may be present in the house. Men make small crosses from the remnant of the thicker side of badnjak, and stick them under eaves, on fields, meadows, vineyards, and apiaries. It is believed this will help that the ensuing year be happy and fruitful. A good sign that this will be the case is when there is a lot of snow on Christmas Day. The third day of Christmas coincides with St. Stephen's Day, which is the slava of many Serbian families. It is also the slava of Republika Srpska. In this way, many Serbs celebrate two important holidays, Christmas and slava, within three days.

Twelve Days of Christmas

During the Twelve Days of Christmas (January 7 - January 18 on the Gregorian calendar), one is to greet another person with "Christ is Born!", which should be responded to with "Truly He is Born". January 14 coincides with New Year's Day according to the Julian calendar; it is also the Feast of St. Basil the Great. A traditional folk name for this holiday is Mali Božić - Little Christmas. The head and the right Boston butt of pečenica, reserved at Christmas dinner, are served for dinner on this day. A part of this meal consists of vasilice- round cakes named after St. Basil, made with cornmeal and cream. People versed in scapulimancy used the shoulder blade of the Boston butt to foretell events concerning the family in the ensuing year. The snout cut from the head of pečenica could have been used in love magic. If a girl looked stealthily through the snout at a boy she loved, but who did not care for her, he would supposedly go mad about her. The last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, January 18 (January 5 on the Julian calendar), is the eve of the Epiphany. Its folk name is Krstovdan - the Day of the Cross. (Not to be confused with the Feast of Exaltation of the Cross celebrated on September 14, which is also called Krstovdan.) This is a strict fast day; the adults should eat almost nothing. It was believed that the north, south, east, and west wind crossed each other on Krstovdan. The wind that overpowered the other three, would be dominant in the ensuing year. This twelve-day period used to be called the unbaptized days, during which demonic forces of all kinds were considered to be more than usually active and dangerous. People were cautious not to attract their attention, and did not go out late at night.

Merry Christmas in some of the languages of the Balkan countries:

1. Albanian = Gzuar Krisht-lindjê
2. Bosnian = Sretan Božić
3. Croatian = Sretan Božić
   
4. Macedonian = Среќен Божик (pronounced Sretan Božić)
   
5. Montenegrin = Hristos se rodi ("Christ is born")
   
6. Serbian = Христос се роди (Hristos se rodi, literally "Christ is born")
   
7. Slovenian = Vesel Božič