Orthodox Holidays and Christmas
New Jersey (January 5, 2023) — Koledari are Slavic traditional performers of a ceremony called koleduvane, a kind of Christmas caroling. It is associated with Koliada, a celebration incorporated later into Christmas. Traditional beliefs is to burn outside.
Badnik is a holiday for the family celebrates January 6. On this day people stay at their homes with their families. According to tradition, the whole family gathers around the dinner badnik table in the evening, which should be festive and rich, but lean. Christmas Eve marks the end of the 40-day Christmas fast.
Customs may vary depending on the place, but almost every table has pogacha (bread), bread popularly called kravajche, in which is put a coin. Bread is divided to family members and one piece is left for God and one of the house. It is believed that the one who finds the coin will have health, happiness and success in the coming year.
Badnik table
Traditionally, there should be beans, lean sarma, pitulici, pogacha, dried fruits. After dinner, the food is not moved from the table, because it is believed that the Lord would come at night to feed. Others leave the food because they believe that will come the spirits of those who are no longer with us.
Christmas Eve is a night of peace, joy and unity when people greet the birth of Christ. Orthodox family decorate their homes with Christmas Eve branches (from oak) which symbolizes the expected news about the birth of Jesus Christ, and when the great Christmas holiday comes, people greet with the words “Christ is born – really born.”
Macedonians celebrate these major holidays with great respect, when everyone needs to forget the bad and to give the opportunity to kindness. Even the unhappiest and the poorest people should put a smile on their faces. At least for the moment, everyone should learn to forgive and to open his heart to others.
Christmas Orthodox
Orthodox Christmas Day is on January 7 every year. In the Julian calendar a much older calendar used before the current Gregorian calendar Christmas was updated by the political reasons. The Orthodox Church still uses the same old calendar to celebrate Christmas Day. Orthodox Christians celebrate by going to church and other traditions like burning frankincense to commemorate the Wise Men’s gifts to baby Jesus.
