If you are confused and you don’t understand how it is possible, we`ll try to explain in following lines. Serbs are known as a nation which likes to celebrate, so it isn’t surprising why the ritual of countdown 10,9,8,7… 1 “Happy New Year” is repeated three times. Actually that isn’t the only reason why it happens so many times. New Year’s Eve is on December 31st, and that is the first celebration in Serbia. For most Serbs “rerun” of New Year`s Eve on January 1st is compulsory. The second celebration is usually more fun than the first, because everyone is already relaxed and in a festive mood.
Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar and that is the biggest reason for third celebration of New Year`s Eve. Celebration of Orthodox New Year’s Eve falls on January 13th.
The most joyous Christian holiday, Christmas is also celebrated by the Julian calendar in Serbia on January 7th. The birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated at home with family. The celebration of Christmas begins on Christmas Eve on January 6th, when the host brings a bough of oak tree (badnjak) in the house. In rural areas, the host goes into the woods to take an oak tree. On the Christmas Eve, badnjak is placed on the fire which symbolizes the light and heat that warms and brings family members together. The Christmas table is diverse and very rich. Chesnica (special cake prepared for Christmas) is broken in equivalent number of pieces as there are members of a family. A coin is placed in chesnica, and whoever finds it will be rich in the following year, according to belief. On Christmas, Orthodox Christians greet each other with “Christ is born” and respond with “Truly He is born”.
According to the old calendar, the beginning of the New Year falls on January 14th. This feast is popularly known as Little Christmas(the day when Christ was circumcised) and the Serbs call it “Serbian or Orthodox New Year“. The celebrations are organized in city’s squares throughout Serbia in the night between January 13th and 14th. If you would like to repeat the New Year`s Eve once more in this year, you just need to visit Serbia 😉
