Holiday story

Christmas - the old customs

The only day during the year when most of us wants to be at home, with our families, around the fireplace definitely is Christmas. We all celebrate it in various ways, but the thing we all have in common is men's primeval need for belonging, for not being alone and feeling that even for just that one day we can be happy and united family


By LJILJANA SAMARDŽIĆ
from Sombor, SERBIA


Just few days before December 25th, the winter holiday fever begins. It is the day when all Catholics celebrate Christmas. Every morning we can see more and more cities emerge in their full holiday glow. On the other hand, the Orthodox Christmas demands lots of warmness, communal spirit, peace, obeying certain customs and performing Christmas ceremonies, which are passing on through generations.

Eastern Orthodox Christians are celebrating their Christmas by Julian calendar on January 7th. This holy day has been celebrated among the Serbs centuries ago before acceptance of Christianity and most of the customs related to this day have ancient history. It is rarely asked "Why are we doing this and why on this day?". On some of these questions Frazer and Cajkanovic tried to answer. They followed a trace of old tales, poems, traditions and remains of rituals in order to explain, though partially, origin of our tradition.

Rituals and prohibitions - this is what this holy day consists of. The very first prohibition we have on the day before Christmas - it is not allowed to borrow or give anything from the house. Why? Initially, giving a fire from house on that day was forbidden because it symbolized a spirit of ancestors and it was a center of domestic cult. If we do not obey, we are in danger to give up on souls of ancestors, disturbing the goal of Christmas -gathering with our ancestors and celebrating together. We even make magical moves and use spells to avocate them, although subconsciously. However, if we do give the fire or any object from our home we are in situation to lose our holy protectors who influence next year's blessing and happiness.

Christmas Eve is special evening when we are evoking all souls of our ancestors to join us at feast and holyday itself. Firstly, the yule log and reed are being brought into house. The meal should not be served at table, but at reed. In new times reed is being put on the table, beneath the table cloth, but the presence of old custom is there anyway. The reed is like magnetism for souls and that is way we start evoking them with it. Another way of evoking is peeping like chickens while bringing the reed in. It is done by householder and children. By peeping we are vocating birds since they are creatures in which souls like to inhabit. When that is done, just before dinner, which consists of strict meals and on which every family member must be present, householder is throwing away a nut or a bean in every corner of the room. The reason why he is throwing strictly these plants is the belief that demons, souls of our late ancestors, are hiding in corners. Bean and nut are given magical attributes among many nations, especially the nut which is known as underworld tree which makes it a food for souls. One empty plate is always being left on the table. Later, it should be filled with food that hosts are eating as well. This is known as mixed sacrifice and it is intended for a wolf, who is a representative of underworld, a world where souls of dead live. In some regions the plate is being brought outside and wolf is being evoked by strict magical words. Wolf, that is our ancestors and protectors of our home, is promising us affluent year, peace and health in return. During Christmas, that is three days, all iron subjects are being removed because the dead are scared of them and our cause is to gather them.

On Christmas morning the man who brings us luck is coming with our invitation. We call him "polazenik". He is handing out a gift to fire, sits under the table and represents "incarnation of mythical ancestor", in words of Cajkanovic. It is also characteristic that house should not be moped, that is cleaned, for the next three days. This is because it is believed that souls of the dead are being chased away from the house by moping. Only when holydays are over we can chase them away.

On Christmas day, Serbian children get presents from Santa Clause, who is personification of old Serbian national God. He arrives on the back of the horse, travels across the land and makes a round of his people. He does not have characteristics of today's christian God whom we had accepted, but the customs do confirm that he used to exist.

These are only few customs that are being performed during Christmas since ancient times, which are not remembered even by our grandmothers and grandfathers, but the existences of these customs brings the smile on our faces and makes our beginning of the year better.


(Published: 10.12.2008.)