Feastday of St. Nicholas

OrthodoxyOrDeath · Fri 19 December 2003 12:52 am

Chronia Polla to all, for all you Serbs out there, I will be at my first Slava tomorrow.

Moronikos · Post by **Moronikos** » Fri 19 December 2003 11:54 am

Tessa · Post by **Tessa** » Mon 22 December 2003 9:03 pm

Wow OOD you went to your first slava! That's great. Mine was on Friday as well, and we communed, feasted and had a wonderful time. I will try to het pics up somehow. I hope you had a blessed day and didn't try the sljivovica (plum brandy). It's a Serb "tradition" that's sure to get you drunk. Jk
In Christ,
Tessa

OrthodoxyOrDeath · Mon 22 December 2003 9:17 pm

Tessa,

Yes, I normally don't drink anything but wine during a fast, but I was handed a glass of what you call "plum brandy", and what I call moonshine. I don't know if its typical, but this stuff was home brewed and was stronger than gasoline.

And no sooner than my eyes cleared and my face stopped tingling, I was handed more.

My 8 year old son kept asking to try some, so I gave him a sip. We havn't seen him since.

This tradition is a great thing. I'll bet its even better in the small Serbian villages.

I kept asking but couldn't get a straight answer, maybe it was just a dumb question, but this couple brought a pan of bread to church like you would Koulova. It was really unique, it had braided strans of bread baked on top of the main loaf to form a design of a cross in the middle with ICXC in the corners of the cross. Then the bread is brought home and cut up, everyone who comes to the Slava has to have some.

Could you explain this custom and its significance?

Tessa · Post by **Tessa** » Tue 23 December 2003 9:25 pm

Serbian Slava is very interesting and has alot of interesting customs which I will try to breifly describe for both you and everyone else on this board. I have to admit when I read your response regarding sljivovica I about died laughing. Not only is it used to drink, but also to clean cuts, massage sore backs and/or feet, on a cotton ball for an infected tooth or a teething baby, as a rub to draw out fever, sooth a cough at night, and also last but not least, as a stain remover. And I am NOT exaggerating.

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The slava is celebrated by the "domachin", or patriarch of the family. The three most important things at the slava are:

the bread either called "krsni hljeb" or "slavski kolach". Always circular, only cut with a knife twice in the shape of a cross. It can be very intricately decorated with various symbols but the most important and universal symbol alaways used is the cross. The bread can either be brought to church to be blessed or usually the priest comes to the home. The home and guests are blessed by the priest with the censer who then cuts the bread on the belly side in the shape of a cross. He then pours red wine onto it "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" The family and the priest turn the braed three times and it is ripped in two. The priest then offers it to all members of the family saying,"Christ is among us," and the paricipant kissing the bread repond, "He is and shall be". Then all day long guests try to particpate by eating a piece of the special bread.
the candle. The candle is lit on the table when the bread is broken, and is a big huge one with a cross and little icon of the saint on the bottom. While it burns, the domachin must remain standing to show reverence to his saint and all the guests who come to congratulate his slava. It can only be put out after midnight.
the wheat or "zhito" or "kolyivo". It is ground and cooked with sugar and place in an ornate bowl, then decorated with nuts or dried fruits on top in the shape of a cross. A candle is placed in the middle to burn and is like the same thing we make for the parastos or 40 days after someone dies. It is in remembrance of all the reposed Christians in our clan. It is blessed by the priest too and all partake in it by crossing themselves and tasting a spoonful.

There are more tradtions from different villages but these are the most universal. OOD, I hope you had fun and may you go to a hundred more slavas.

In Chirst,
Tessa

OrthodoxyOrDeath · Wed 24 December 2003 12:41 am

Why thank you Tessa.

I like learing about these things very much. I kept asking questions when I was there, but I couldn't get any answers, like I was wearing a sign saying "imposter, Greek here."

That is very interesting about the bread. Similiar to some other traditions, but different.

When this couple was married in our Church, I remember the grooms father came over from Serbia and was peddling this moonshine to everyone. I guess if you can't clean you driveway with it, give it to your friends to drink.

Thanks again Tessa, I hope to go to more Slavas, and who knows, I may just someday be brewing my own "plum brandy".

Tessa · Post by **Tessa** » Thu 25 December 2003 12:50 am

No prob OOD, I like telling people about our customs, even the weird ones. One question if you don't mind, what state are you from? Are there many Serbs there? About the "imposter Greek" line, you'd be surprised. Even new calendar Greeks are LOVED by most Serbs. I mean every one else HATES us, all we have left are Russians, Greeks, and Gypsies. My family especially has a special place in our hearts for Greeks being that during the war (Bosnian), a Greek family in Thessalonikia took in my kid sister in law so she didn't have to be in the war zone. Also many hardcore, I am assuming old calendarist, Greeks came to fight on the Serbian side and I know for a fact because there were some in my husbands division who spoke NO Serbian and learned in boot camp.

One more thing. I need your help. I work with a girl from Greece whom I am also friends with. She came here from Volos at 16 and has all but lost her Orthodoxy and I am little by little trying to get her back. She is on the new calendar and supposedly has NO idea about the old calendar. In fact half the time I feel like she thinks I am making things up about the split and all the hardships Old Calendarist did and DO face from the new calendar Greeks. Is there anything information wise on the www IN Greek I could show her to help explain. About a year ago she found this church that really reminded her of Greece and called her mom to mention they are on a "different" (old) calendar. Her mom told the village priest and he had the mom tell her not to EVER go there anymore. Now she doesn't go anywhere and I want to help her.

In Christ,
TEssa