Every year, 65438+10.7 is the most solemn Christmas celebration day for Serbian residents who believe in the Orthodox Church, and this year is no exception. Lights are flashing in the street, and children are scrambling to take photos with Santa Claus with balloons in his hand. At noon 12, the chefs of Belgrade Bakers' Federation were pushing newly baked Christmas bread among hundreds of old people and children who had been waiting for a long time in the city center. According to the ancient traditional custom, the host broke the Christmas bread into small pieces and distributed them to everyone. There are gold coins in the bread, and the person who wins them will be the luckiest person this year. Different from previous years, this year, there are not just one bread, but three kinds of bread, the largest of which has a net weight of 25 kilograms. In the cheers of people, three gold coins in the three loaves were obtained by two children aged 14 and an old man respectively. As an ancient Sect, the ancient traditional customs preserved to this day follow the ancient Juliano calendar, so the Christmas of Russian, Serbian and Georgian Orthodox Christians is 13 days later than that of Catholicism, and 17 is the most solemn commemorative festival for Orthodox Christians every year. Different from other ethnic groups such as Russia, in addition to its religious significance, Serbs associate this festival with the beginning of the New Year. According to the statistics of the local political newspaper, 46.2% of the respondents think that the celebration of this day is not for religious reasons, but more to continue some folk customs and traditions of the nation, which is the beginning of a new year. What is most gratifying to the local cultural circles is that with the annual celebration of the festival, many ancient traditional customs of the Serbian people have been preserved in the vast number of small and medium-sized towns and rural areas. As the biggest festival for local residents, before 1 and 1, every household began to get busy. Cleaning the room, killing pigs and sheep, and cooking all kinds of food, according to the traditional saying, within three days after Christmas, no pots and pans can be moved in the house, nothing can be moved in the house, and even bedding does not have to be folded. Because the family thinks that the spirits of ancestors are wandering among everything in the house these days, as long as they are not disturbed, they can bless the happiness and peace of the whole family in the new year, so everything must be prepared before the festival. The busiest day before Christmas is 65438+1October 6th. In the morning, the whole family has to get up at dawn, and all the men in the family have to go to the Woods to cut down many branches needed for the holiday fire. Usually, young oak trees or oak trees are used, but branches of pine or cypress trees are also used in some parts of Serbia. After finding a suitable tree in the forest, everyone should first stand facing the east and cross their hands to pray. After praying for three times, they will start to work and cut down the whole tree with three axes. People repeat the story in the Bible through these actions: when Jesus came, St. Joseph took back the firewood and lit a warm flame in a cold cave. The sawdust cut by the axe will be taken home and put in wooden boxes to brew cheese, which indicates that cheese will be as thick as sawdust this year. While men were chopping wood in the Woods, women began to prepare various vegetarian meals for family dinners at home in the evening. First, they must go to the well in the morning to bring enough clean water home. According to traditional customs, the whole family can only use clean water brought in in the morning all day. Then they have to feed all kinds of poultry and livestock raised at home, so that the whole family can eat quietly at night without being disturbed. Interestingly, in many places, the dog can't be fed anything on this day, otherwise it will be very grumpy in the new year. Since the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus on the hay in the stable of a private hotel in Bethlehem, at night, families need to spread some fresh hay on the land in the house and put four walnuts in the four corners of the room, symbolizing that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in charge of the four corners of the room. At night, lock the door, light candles, scatter food and incense in every corner of the house, sit on the ground covered with hay, next to the crackling flames of oak branches, and the whole family begins a sumptuous vegetarian dinner on Christmas Eve. In addition to food such as bread and wine, there should also be soybeans that ancestors used to eat most often in the pioneering era, as well as walnuts and dried plums that symbolize bumper harvests all year round. There must be a plate of green wheat seedlings on the dining table, which symbolizes the vitality of the whole family and nature in a year. There is a candle in the middle of the seedling, which needs to be lit until Jesus comes. Sneeze to wish good luck for a year. 65438 10/7, housewives should get up before dawn, go to the well or other water source where the grain has been sprinkled in advance, take the unused "clean water" home before the sun rises, then put on clean traditional holiday clothes, light candles, sing blessing song, and start baking the Eucharist bread symbolizing the body of Jesus in a very grand atmosphere. Just like after Jesus was born, several wise men came from the East and brought Jesus gold and other gifts. Therefore, the first person who walks into the house at Christmas is also called a wise man or a god of good news, usually a boy, which means that he will bring peace and good luck to his family all year round and be honored as a guest by his family all day. After church, Christmas lunch can be said to be the most lively and rich gathering in a year, and the whole family should be in place. At the beginning of lunch, the oldest person in the family broke the Eucharist bread into small pieces. The first piece is dedicated to God, the second piece is dedicated to the wise man who came, and the third piece is dedicated to the passing guests, and then the bread is distributed to every member of the family. Usually a coin or gold coin is added to bread, and the winner will be the luckiest person this year. According to this custom, the chefs of Belgrade Bakers Association distribute bread in the center of Belgrade every year, which leads to the scene at the beginning of this article. Families sometimes soak bread in red wine symbolizing the blood of Jesus, which indicates that the whole family will be very harmonious all year round. In addition, in many villages in Serbia, people think that sneezing at Christmas will bring good luck to their families, so they should sneeze at least once on this day. Limitations of modern city life The day after Christmas is a day when people visit relatives and friends, visit each other and visit each other. On June 9, 65438, every household will move hay or burnt branches out of the room. Charred charcoal is kept as medicine, and hay is taken to the orchard to bind fruit trees for the winter, or scattered in farmland for cultivation in the coming year. 65438+1October 10 is generally called "women's Christmas", because there is leftover food at home, housewives who have worked hard for a year can get together on this day, laugh, dance and play, and enjoy the fun all year round. Due to the limitations of modern life, urban residents have to transform and change these traditional customs. In addition to distributing bread, some restaurants also distribute fish soup and various vegetarian dishes for free on Christmas Eve. Some social celebrities and musicians will go to nursing homes, orphanages and other places to distribute gifts to the elderly and children, and play piano and violin for free. Milivoje, an old man who is buying oak branches in the free market, told reporters, "Peace, friendship, respect and happiness are people's greatest wishes at Christmas, and the youngest 8-year-old grandson in the family is the biggest beneficiary of the festival. We will make some arrangements to let the youngest grandson walk into the house first at Christmas, so that he will be the happiest person in the family all day. " Milla simic, an old woman, said, "It's a pity that we can't celebrate festivals as we used to do in the countryside, but we will try our best to follow traditional ways, such as oak branches, hay, bread, and a big lunch. No one will be short of. However, the most important thing is that after one year, the whole family can sit together and feel the happiness of family. "