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The face, however, may be made separately out of a dried gourd shell or a piece of wood, and then sewn to hide so that the mask can cover all the head. The moustache, beard, and eyebrows are made with black wool, horsehair, or hemp fibers, and the teeth with beans.
Zoomorphic and anthropo-zoomorphic masks may have white, black, or red painted horns attached to them.
The costumes are prepared from ragged clothes, sheepskins with the wool turned outside, and calf hides. Strings of little bells and ratchets are fastened around the waist and the knees of the costumes. An ox tail with a bell fixed at its end may be attached at the back of them.
The leader of the group is called Grandpa. The other koledari gather at his house on the eve of koleda , and at midnight they all go out and start their activities. Walking through streets of the village they shout and make noise with bells and ratchets.
Most are armed with sabers or clubs. One of them, called Bride, is masked and costumed as a pregnant woman. He holds a distaff in his hand and spins hemp fibers.
The koledari tease and joke with Bride, which gives a comic note to the koleda. Several of them are called alosnici s. There may be other named characters in the group. The koledari sing special songs, in which the word koledo , the vocative case of koleda , is inserted in the middle and at the end of each verse. Grandpa initiates each song, determining which one will be sung at a given time.
His choice depends on whether they are in a street, or coming in front of, entering, staying in, or leaving a house: there is a separate set of the songs for each of these situations. Good evening, koledo, head of household, koledo! We've found him eat the evening meal, and drink of wine at a table, your cow herder, by your cattle.
May all of your cows be calving nothing but the twist-horned oxen; may all of your mares be foaling nothing but the colts with stockings; may all of your ewes be lambing nothing but the silken-wooled sheep. A sheep herder has leaned himself on a slender stick of walnut. There passes by a young damsel to pull away that slender stick. The sheep herder begins to speak, "Little damsel with a white face, who has fashioned your pleated dress, along the skirt, with spreading pleats, at the waistline, with gathered pleats?
An opposition is made between the former, described as old, and the latter, described as young. Koledari sung it to the household head in whose home they came:.
Head of household, koledo, honored master, koledo! We've found you at the evening meal: you are eating your evening meal, with the white throat drinking of wine, and with the eyes counting up pearls, and with the hands knitting ribbon. Pass the end of ribbon to us, on which we will pray to the God for the old one - for the Badnjak, for the young one - for the Christmas. Besides the singing, the koledari also chase away demons from the household.
First they search the house to find out where the demons hide. They look everywhere, at the same time shouting, dancing, jumping, knocking on the floor and walls with sticks, and teasing Bride. When they find the demons, they drive them out of the hiding place, and fight with them swinging their sabers and clubs.
After the demons are chased away, the koledari briefly dance the kolo, and then bless the household. As a reward, they receive a loaf of bread which the family prepared specially for them, and other food gifts. The Vertep is a Serbian Orthodox Christmas custom.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a group of boys dressed in variegated costumes goes from house to house of their village carrying a vertep — a litter 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.
On 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 the fruit better. A bigger bundle of it is stored in a dry place: it will be 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 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. A part of this meal consists of little round loaves made with cornmeal and cream.
They are named vasilica after Saint Basil the Great, because January 1 is also the feast day of this saint. People versed in scapulimancy used the shoulder blade of the Boston butt to foretell events concerning the family in the ensuing year. 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. On the day before Little Christmas, especially in south-eastern Serbia, a group of young unmarried men goes through streets of their village and chase away demons by making a deafening noise.
Sirovari , as these men are called, shout as loud as possible two words, " Sirovo burovo! The group consists of seven, nine or eleven members; it is said that if there were an even number of sirovari , one of them would die within a year. Moving through the village, they try to make it impossible for anyone to count them.
They constantly change positions in the group, hide and suddenly reappear. Villagers are glad to receive them in their homes, and treat them with food and drink. The following custom was recorded at the end of the 19th century in the north Dalmatian region of Bukovica.
Early in the morning of Little Christmas, children of a family would spread Christmas straw from their house around the stake in the center of their village's threshing floor. The use of this stake was to tether a horse to it; the animal was then driven around to thresh grain by treading with its hooves.
The woman of the house would bake 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 loaf would be taken to the threshing floor, and fixed round the stake. The oldest man of the family would hold the stake with his right hand above the loaf. As for his left hand, the next oldest man would hold it with his right hand, and so on to the youngest boy who could walk steadily.
Holding hands in this manner, they would run around the stake three times. During the running they would shout in unison as loud as possible, " Ajd ajde, koba moja!
The woman of the house would "feed them fodder", i. Having eaten, they would go back to the threshing floor and repeat the whole ritual, only this time without the loaf. In the end, they would collect Christmas straw from the threshing floor; it was put in hens' nests to prevent them from laying eggs outside the nests. This custom was considered as especially joyful for children.
Its folk name is Krstovdan — the Day of the Cross. This is a strict fast day; the adults should eat almost nothing. It was believed that the north, south, east, and west winds 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.
This torture would end only when roosters announced the dawn; at that moment the creature would release its victim and run away. Gift giving during Christmas is not a Serbian tradition - instead, gifts are given on the three Sundays before Christmas Day - Detinjci or Djetinjci , Materice , and Oci.
Children give gifts on Detinjci , married women on Materice , and married men on Oci. The best presents are exchanged between parents and their children. Fasting is a faithful abstain from foods, especially those derived from animals, and wine. In the old days, Sundays honored the old covenant between God and Abraham and now - the new covenant between God and those who believe in Christ. The Orthodox tradition uses icons - paintings of saints, to help people to pray.
The main icon for Christmas features scenes from the birth of Christ. The giving of gifts started as a Roman tradition. Although the early church fathers condemned the practice, it continues to this day. Several feasts are held during the Orthodox Christmas season, including feasts for Mary, Joseph, the first-born children slain by Caesar, and Jesus' circumcision.
Orthodox Christianity is popular in Greek and Slavic-language communities, including Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Macedonian communities. Go on a fast or diet leading up to Orthodox Christmas. Try eliminating meat and animal foods from your diet. Go for dinner at the Russian or Greek Restaurant. Many will serve specials to commemorate this holiday.
Month Calendar. Sat 1. Sun 2. Fri 7. Mir Boziji! Hristos se Rodi! Christ is Born!. In some homes, the host tears off a piece for every person present and one extra piece for the polozajnik poh-loh-ZHAY-nik or First Guest. This ceremonial round bread varies by region and might be a simple peasant bread, a sweet bread, or even something akin to pogacha.
What seems to remain constant is that a silver coin is baked inside, which will bring luck to the one who finds it. Also on the table is a container of wheatgrass that was planted on St.
Nicholas Day, symbolizing a good harvest, usually festooned with a ribbon and a lighted candle. After toasting with slivovitz plum brandy or warm vruca rakija a potent blend of whiskey and slivovitz with honey and spices , wheat grains are sprinkled over the guests for luck and prosperity. Only then does the feasting begin. The meal is lavish with pecenica roast pork , meat sarma stuffed cabbage , baked ham, sausage, roast potatoes, parslied potatoes, and desserts galore— nutroll , cheese strudel , apple strudel , drum torte —fresh and dried fruits and, of course, slivovitz and strong, dark Turkish coffee.
After dinner, Christmas Day is spent receiving and visiting friends and family. The first visitor to one's home on Christmas Day is known as the polozajnik or poleznik. The polozajnik, whether young or old, male or female, is said to come in the name of God with best wishes. In the old days, the polozajnik would take a branch from the badnjak and stir up the fire in the hearth.
The more sparks representing God's blessings for the family he or she created, the better. Radmila Milivojevic, of Chesterton, Ind. She has fond memories of Christmas in Serbia.
My sisters and brother stood behind him as he knocked on our front door. My mother would ask, 'Who is this coming?
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