The Slava 

Paramount to most Serbian families is the concept of Slava - a celebration of a patron. Unlike many other traditions, which are common to all of the people, each family celebrates their own patron who is considered its protector. An assigned saint is inherited from father to son, and each household may only have one celebration. To celebrate Slava there are few necessary items needed; the icon of a saint, a candle, Slavski Kolac (Holy Bread, wine and Zito (wheat). Celebrating their Slava to many Serbian families is as important as celebrating other important dates such as Christmas.  

The lighted candle reminds us that Christ is the Light of the world. Without Him we would live in darkness. Christ's light should fill our hearts and minds always, and we should not hide the Light of Christ in our lives.

Slavsko žito - boiled wheat, represents the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ reminded us that except a grain of wheat die it can not rise again, even as it was necessary that He die, be buried, and on the third day rise again so that we all can triumph over death. The Slavsko žito is prepared as an offering to God for all of the blessings we have received from Him. It also is to honor the Patron Saint and to commemorate our ancestors who lived and died in the Orthodox faith.

Slava's bread - Slavski Kolac, represents Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life. It is also symbolic of our thanks to God for being saved through Its Son. During Slava, the priest cuts a cross in the bread, which reminds us of Christ's death on the cross for the remission of our sins. The red wine, of course, represents Christ's precious blood, which was required to wash our sins away. 

"Koljivo" (also called "Žito") is made of boiled wheat. It can be prepared in a variety of ways, but most usually includes walnuts, nutmegs or cloves, and honey.

The wheat is a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ and deceased family members.

Orthodox Easter 

Easter is celebrated on a different day of the year according to the calendar. Good Friday is the most prominent day in the Serbian Calendar, marking the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is the day the family dye their hard boiled eggs with red dye, symbolising happiness, joy, rebirth and blood of Christ, and the hard shell symbolising the sealed Tomb of Christ. On Sunday, families attend a church service and greet each other with “Hristos Vaskrse” (Christ has Resurrected). The 46 day fast preceding Easter is strict in the Serbian tradition. For the duration of the fast meat, dairy and eggs are forbidden. Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as the opportunity to break the fast with great quantity of food.  

Orthodox Christmas

Serbian Orthodox Church uses Julian calendar, therefore Christmas falls on January 7th of the Gregorian calendar. The traditions and customs of the Serbian Christmas are different to the traditions associated with the Westernised Christmas. Early in the morning of Christmas Eve the head of the family will go to a forest to cut a ‘badnjak’, a young oak, which would be brought to church to be blessed by the priest. Christmas day is marked with a feast, with roasted piglet or lamb as the main meal. A sweet cake made of wheat ‘koljivo’ is consumed as a ritual, with each individual crossing themselves before taking a spoonful and savouring it. The most important Christmas meal is ‘cesnica’ a special Serbian bread. The bread contains a coin and during the lunch the family breaks up the bread and the finder of the coin is said to be assured a happy year.

Start a business

Celebrating Christmas lasts three days. Christmas Day is the most important. Some people believe that is good to start a business for Christmas, because the household were advanced and rich throughout the year. 

Straw and marriage

In some parts of Serbia, people believe that young man or girl who spends the night on Christmas straw that night  they will dream person which will be their husband or wife.

Red thread and money

In some parts of Serbia, people put money next to  the head of a newborn baby. They believe that is a way for buying sister or brother... Or girlfriend, boyfriend... 

People bind a red thread around the arms in order to protect from the evil eye. If the baby is beautiful, people should spit 3 times, to protect baby from  the evil eye. 

Red letter 

When is red letter, people don't work. They believe that something wrong is going to happen. Usually they heard some scary story from friends, so they respect that day. 

Everyday Customs 

Greetings

Serbian people often greet each other with a hand shake. The hand shake is important in the Serbian culture as it shows acknowledgement and respect for other people.

Personal relationships such as friends, family, professional relationships such as a doctor’s visit are greeted with a handshake. 

In close relationships such as those with family and friends Serbs will often kiss three times on the cheek. Kissing three times symbolises the Holy Trinity; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Reffering to others

Serbian people usually greet people they are not acquainted with by their first name, followed by “Nice to meet you.”  With people with whom they are acquainted with, they just shake hands and ask “How are you” .

Generally, Serbian people are more formal with their doctors, or people of a greater status to them.

Eye contact is highly valued in the Serbian culture and avoiding eye contact is perceived as being rude and being interested in the person.

 Non-verbal communication including hand gestures and facial expressions are highly important in everyday conversations.  

Other Serbian Customs

Serbia is generally perceved as country  with  ‘warm hearted people’ , where hospitality and catering to the guests is of central

importance.

 A host offers a lot of drinks and food, and everything is done to make the person feel at home.

The use of phrase ‘Molim vas’ (please) is preceded before asking for something politely, which is always followed up by ‘Hvala’ or ‘Thank You’.

Serbian people are generally open, friendly and direct, showing interest in someone’s life, politics, interests and dislikes are often basis for conversation.

All about wedding 

Shoes for the PROVODADŽIJA

Once the matchmaker (in Serbian provodadžija) does his job, arranges the wedding and the soon-to-be newlyweds decide to get married, they have to buy the provodadžija new shoes so that their marriage would be long and spent in happiness.

“Decorating” the BUKLIJA

After arranging the wedding and a few days before starts, it’s time to invite the wedding party (svatovi). In Serbia, according to tradition, the buklijaš, a young man from the groom’s side invites guests by offering them a sip from a special hip flask called buklija. The buklija usually contains rakija and is decorated with flowers or a small towel, and the guests “decorate” it with money.

Hot peppers and a wip – make way, the ŽARAČ is coming!

The žarač, a conspicuosly dressed person wearing a wreath of peppers and holding a whip in his hands has a rather “simple” task – to divert the attention of “evil eyes” from the bride and groom so that they wouldn’t harm them.

The wedding party is led by the…

The barjaktar or stari svat, carries a banner with an apple on top. The wedding party is adorn with towels, flowers and rosemary as are their cars (once horse carriages called čeze and fijakeri).

The stari svat, once the groom’s uncle, today the second witness, is a person with contradictory traits but roles as well. He’s the responsible one who organizes the whole thing as well as the one in charge of entertaining everybody. In the past, after the wedding, the stari svat, adorn with a wreath of dry peppers, sat on a carpet and ordered the bride and groom to dance in a kitchen pan.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

This only one of the rules a traditional Serbian bride has to go by when it comes to her wedding “dress-code”. But, as Serbs are a very imaginative people, this is but one of the customs related to the way a Serbian bride has to be dressed.Most of the customs and beliefs have to do something with repelling evil forces, demons etc. It is said that they are particularly active during these festive days.

Mirrors

Serbian brides even used to carry small mirrors so that the demons would get scared by their own reflection.

“There can be only one”

If it ever happened that two wedding parties meet when going from one village to another, the brides had to hide. Why? Because it was believed that the bride that was seen would not only not get married but die.

Garlic in the bosom against bad luck

Another recipe for avoiding being jinxed involved the bride putting a clove of garlic in her bosom during the wedding preparations, dressing, etc.

Pearls!

If the bride doesn’t want to spend her marriage in tears, then she shouldn’t be wearing pearls as they symbolize tears.

The WREATH

The bridal wreath or the nevestinjski venac had a couple of meanings when it came to Serbian weddings. Firstly it made the bride stand out from the rest of the wedding party, secondly it protected her from evil entities. It was made from various materials and it often had peculiar elements such as strands from a horse’s tail, a peacock feather a cross-shaped charm, etc. It also symbolized her wish to be fertile.

The VEIL

Apart from protecting the bride from evil spirits, the role of the veil (veo) is to hide her beauty from other men.

Shooting of the apple

The shooting of the apple is one of the most common Serbian traditions when it comes to wedding customs. It’s still being performed all over Serbia. The father-in-law puts an apple on the highest tree in the bride’s yard and until the groom shoots it the bride can’t leave the house.

Everything’s possible when it comes to the BUYING OF THE BRIDE!

The bride is “sold” by her own brother, and “bought” by the groom or the stari svat. When it comes to Serbian weddings this is perhaps the most interesting wedding custom. Why? Because the groom will often get a “fake bride” – usually a man dressed in a wedding gown posing as his future wife. However, it can also happen that the groom outwits everyone and, by sneaking through the window at the other side of the house, steals the bride.

The Serbian Cinderella

Another unusual Serbian wedding custom is that during the “buying of the bride” the groom’s brother puts money in thebride’s shoes and spins in three times.

A boy or a girl – depends on the glass!

Before the wedding ceremony, the bride drinks from a glass, toasts and then throws the glass. If the glass breaks she will have a boy and if it doesn’t she’ll have a girl.

Who’ll run the house?

During the wedding ceremony when the soon-to-be married couple are saying their I do’s, the bride can (and in Serbia usually does) step on the groom’s foot. She does this because it supposedly means she’ll wear the pants in the house.

“You want me to pull your nose?”

After, the couple is married, in Serbia the bride asks all the single girls this question.The general belief was that the one that the bride pulls by the nose will get married next.

The bouquet for men? An apple!

After the church wedding the bride cast over her head an apple in which coins are embedded. Whichever guy catches it gets married next, just like with the bouquet and women.

The throwing of the SITO

Before the bride enters her new home (she usually went to live with her husband and his family), she takes sito, a special mixture of grains, and throws it over the roof of the house. It is said that if it stays on the roof the bride will stay in her new home. This custom is very much alive even nowadays. There is another one which involves the wedding party throwing wheat, rice, barley, etc over the newlyweds which symbolizes fertility, posterity and plenty in the married life.

Another broken glass

This time the bride breaks it in front of the house she’ll live in, so that all the arguments and conflicts would stay much like the glass – in front of the house.

The NAKONČE

Also, before she enters the house, the bride is supposed to lift a little boy traditionally called nakonče, three times, so that she will have male children.

Jumping over the doorstep

There were, and are still, a lot of customs and “rituals” the bride has to do before she enters her new home. One of the oldest ones in the bride’s jumping over or being carried over the doorstep. This is done because it was once believed that deceased family members were buried under the hearth or under the doorstep. In order not to desecrate this place, the bride must not step on it.

A pitcher of water

Another old custom regarding the doorstep is the one where a pitcher of water is put on it. Upon her first entering of the house, the bride is supposed to tip it over with her foot. This almost forgotten old Serbian wedding custom was envisioned to bring good luck to the household.

Sweet like honey!

After she (finally!) enters the house, the bride is offered honey by the mother-in-law so her marriage would be sweet.

Have some bread

This time a young single girl hangs bread on the bride’s shoulders so that she would be obedient.

MATERINA POGAČA

Before the celebratory lunch, the bride’s mother bakes a special johnny-cake called materina pogača (meaning Mother’s johnny-cake). The newlyweds are supposed to split it together and the one who gets the bigger piece will be the “man of the house”.

“The little red dress”

In some parts of Serbia, after midnight the bride puts on a red dress instead of her wedding gown. This symbolizes a loving marriage.

Sending off the best man – chair by chair

To end it off, we give you a really unusual, even a bit funny Serbian wedding custom. When the best man decides to go home, he MUSTN’T touch the ground. He has to walk on chairs, to be more precise – from one chair to another, step by step, without any help. Now visualize that!

The Kolo

“Kolo” is a traditional Serbian dance. It is believed that the area of ​​southeast Serbia, when this kind of dance is concerned, is the most diverse and the most interesting. The proximity of Bulgaria and Macedonia and turbulent historical events left traces in the traditional dance. The Shopi area that stretches from Pirot to Sofia and northeast Macedonia is a unified whole in all aspects, and folk music and dance are no exception. In addition, the influence of other cultures and traditions dates far into the past. The Levant influence from Greece came from Byzantine Empire to Nemanjić’s Serbia and in Prizren and its surroundings influenced the creation of the dance repertoire of nobility, which then transferred to rural areas. The second, newer influence got to Vranjsko Pomoravlje with the Ottomans, and left trace in the style of dance. There is a large number of basic dance patterns (types), various musical accompaniment, a number of instruments, a variety of dance styles, a large number of ceremonial dances related to the annual cycle of customs (“koledari”, “sirovari”, “lazarice”, “kraljive”) and life cycles (marriage). A number of dance and musical types are self-explanatory, because of their names: “Banjski Čačak”, “Svrljiški Čačak”, “Niški Čačak”, Stara Bosara”, Piperana”, Pirotski Čačak”, Šilovački Čačak”, Pčinjski Čačak”... In addition to these, there are also: “Jednostranka”, “Osamputka” (“Osmače”, “Drišlja”), “Četvorka”, “Selsko Oro” (Staroselsko, Novoselsko), “Samačko”, “Trojanac”, “Rumenka” and “Polomka” (in the northern part of this area), “Vlasinka”, “Bugarka” and “Šestorka” (the southern part of the area). In addition to singing, dancing was followed by the pipe, bagpipes or drum, trumpet and accordion orchestra.

Traditional folk costumes 

If you prefer something really authentic, traditional folk costumes might be just the right thing for you. Šajkača or fes (traditional folk hats), eiprins, jelek (sleevless embroidered jacket), čakšire (traditional folk trousers) and opanci (traditional folk shoes), made by masters of old crafts transferring their skills from generation to generation, can be beautiful and unique gift. Different folk costumes, influenced by tradition of different nationalities living on this land, can be found in Serbia, and each costume is unique.

*Jelek*

  *Šajkača*

I recommend the jewelry with traditional Serbian motifs. Handmade earrings, necklaces and bracelets are perfect souvenirs that will make you feel like princesses at least for a moment.

White Carnival

Residents of Homolje, Serbs and Vlachs, foster a rich ritual practice dominated by the cult of the dead and the ancestors. The White Carnival Day begins with taking food and light to the cemetery. The most prominent ritual of the spring cycle is burning of the ritual fire. Fire is a symbol of fertility, the link between the world of the living and the dead. The White Carnival fire is lit in the village center, around which people dance. The dance is a way to summon the dead.