Badnjak (Serbian)
The badnjak (
Since the early 20th century, the Serbian badnjak tradition has also been celebrated more publicly. Before World War I, soldiers of the Kingdom of Serbia developed the custom of laying a badnjak on a fire in their barracks. In the succeeding Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the military badnjak ceremony was further elaborated and standardized in army service regulations, but the tradition ended at the outbreak of World War II. Since the early 1990s, the Serbian Orthodox Church has, together with local communities, organized public celebrations on Christmas Eve in which the badnjak plays a central role. Parishioners festively cut the sapling to be used as the badnjak and take it to their church, where it is consecrated by a priest before being ceremonially placed on a fire pit in the churchyard.
The festive kindling of the badnjak commemorates the fire that—according to Serbian folk tradition—the shepherds of
Family celebration
Felling and preparing
Traditionally, the badnjak ceremony begins on Christmas Eve, but there are many regional variations surrounding the details.
Generally, each household prepares one badnjak,[5][6] although more are cut in some regions. Depending on the local custom, Montenegrin Serbs may fell two, three, an arbitrary number greater than two, or the number equal to the male members of household plus one. The latter means that each of the males has a log associated with him, with the thickest log representing the head of household and the thinnest linked to the family's prosperity. If there is only one man in the household, three rather than two logs are prepared. The logs may be cut from different species of tree.[3] In parts of the Bay of Kotor, each household prepares four sets, as they are burned there not only on Christmas Eve, but also on the eves of New Year's Day, Epiphany, and the Feast of Saint Sava.[7] In Grbalj, south-west of
When the head of household finds a suitable tree, he stands in front of it facing east. After throwing grain at the tree, he greets it with the words "Good morning and happy Christmas Eve to you", makes the
The first splinter from the tree is taken home and placed where prosperity is especially desired, such as beside the beehives, in the hen roost, or between milk basins in the dairy room, in the hope that the coming year's kaymak will clot to form thick layers in the basins. It may also be placed beneath some baker's yeast, so that the prosperity of the household may grow like yeast.[6] In Semberija, a piece of the splinter is put in the dough for the česnica, a round loaf of bread prepared specially for Christmas dinner. This is done "because of bees", as the reason is traditionally termed.[1]
The top of the felled tree is removed, leaving the badnjak of such a length that allows it to be carried on a man's shoulder, up to about 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) long.
In the Rađevina region of western Serbia, centered around the town of Krupanj, the badnjak prepared for each household is cut into three logs, the most important of which is the dozemak—the log that comes from the part of the trunk that grew nearest to the ground.[5] In Resava, Levač, Temnić, and Jadar of Serbia, as well as in Ozren and Romanija of Bosnia, the badnjak is cut into three logs associated respectively with the men, the women, and the children.[4]
Bringing in and burning
In the evening, a man of the family brings their badnjak into the house. If there is more than one badnjak, the thickest of them is regarded as the main one, and is brought in first. Stepping across the threshold, right foot first, the man greets his gathered family with the words "Good evening and happy Christmas Eve to you." The woman of the house greets him back, saying "May God give you well-being, and may you have good luck", or "Good luck to you, and together with you for many years to come [may we be]", or similar, before throwing grain from a sieve at the man and the badnjak he carries. In the
Upon entering the house the man approaches the fireplace, called ognjište ([ˈɔɡɲiːʃtɛ])—the hearth of an ognjište is similar to a campfire, in that it has no vertical surround. He lays the badnjak down on the fire and moves it a little forward, to summon prosperity for the household.[6] Any other logs are brought in by other males and laid on the fire parallel or perpendicular to the first.[3] In a family with the tradition of burning the badnjak and badnjačica, they are laid one across the other; the males then kiss the former, and the females the latter.[6] In Bukovica the two thicker logs are placed side by side, and the thinner one (trinity) is placed in parallel on top.[9] In 19th-century Herzegovina, families with large houses would load their logs onto three or four pairs of oxen, which were then led into the house. The logs were unloaded and laid on the fire, and the oxen driven out through the back door.[10]
Immediately after the badnjak has been brought in, or immediately before in some places, an armful of straw is spread over the floor. The straw is usually brought in with the same greetings and throwing of grain as the badnjak. The person spreading it may imitate a hen clucking to call her chicks, "Kvo, kvo, kvo", with the family's children imitating chicks, "Piju, piju, piju", while they pick at the straw.[6] In Čečava, northern Bosnia, the children then lie down on the straw, before closing their eyes and picking a stalk with their lips: the child that picked the longest stalk will supposedly be the luckiest in the following year.[11] In the Bay of Kotor, the ceremony is accompanied by the words "Kuda slama, tuda slava"—"Whither straw, thither celebration." A common custom is to scatter a handful of walnuts over the straw.[12] It will be collected and taken out of the house on the morning of the second day after Christmas. Some of the straw may be set aside and used in apotropaic practices in the coming year.[6]
The thicker end of the log, the end that was nearest to the tree's roots, may have a special significance. In Montenegro it is called the head of the badnjak; the main log is laid on the fire with its head pointing east.[3] In central Serbia, the badnjak is laid with its thicker end sticking out from the ognjište. The household's shepherds would kiss over it to ensure an abundance of lambs in the coming year. In Gruža it is coated with honey which is then licked by children.[13] At the side of ognjište where the thicker end is situated, the family may place a plowshare, a round loaf of bread, a glove filled with wheat, sugar, or a sieve containing grain, honey, cakes, wine, salt, prunes, walnuts, and apples.[6][7] The cut surface of the thicker end is in Čečava kissed by all the family members after the badnjak is laid on the fire.[11]
The head of the household takes a jug of wine and pours some on the badnjak; in some regions, he may strew wheat grains over the logs.[2][3] He then proposes a toast: "Grant, O God, that there be health and joy in this home, that our grain and grapevines yield well, that children be born healthy to us, that our property increase in the field, pen, and barn!"[6] or, "Hail, badnjak, veseljak! I give you wheat and wine, and you give me every good thing and peace!" or similar.[3] The name veseljak, literally "jovial one", is used along with badnjak in some areas.[1] The head drinks a draught of wine from the jug, after which it is passed to other members of household.[12] In the clan of Kuči, wine is poured on the "beard" of the badnjak, and then a little girl sits for a moment on the log—for the well-being of the cattle.[7] Christmas Eve dinner follows, which traditionally includes a round loaf of unleavened bread, beans, fish, walnuts, honey, and red wine. The bread is not cut with a knife, but broken with hands.[14]
The badnjak should not be jumped over or trodden upon, and blowing on its fire is avoided. It should not be moved when about to burn through, lest the log break at the place most consumed by the fire, which is usually strongest at the center of the fireplace; the separation of the log should be a result of the fire only. None of the family members should fall asleep before the log splits, otherwise some of them may die in the coming year, without warning.[6]
The moment when the badnjak burns through may be marked with festivities, such as the log being kissed by the head of household,[1] and wine being poured over it accompanied by toasts.[12] A reward may be given to the family member who was the first to notice the event, and in the past the men would go outside and fire their guns in celebration. There is a special verb preveseliti used instead of the common pregoreti to express "to burn through" when referring to the badnjak, which has the same root as the noun veseljak. Once the log has burnt through, some families let the fire go out, while in others the men keep watch in shifts during the night to keep the badnjak burning.[6] Once the badnjak has burnt through, the thicker end is often taken out of the fire and used according to the local custom. It may be carried around the beehives, extinguished, and placed between the branches of a young plum or apple tree.[1] The men may make crosses from it and put them under the eaves, on the fields, meadows, vineyards, and apiaries, so that the coming year may be happy and fruitful.[6] It may also be set aside for next Christmas Eve, to be placed on the fire immediately before the new badnjak, as a symbol of continuity.[3] In Kosovo, a part of the badnjak is preserved and burned again on New Years Day and Epiphany.[7]
The badnjak burns on through Christmas Day, whether rekindled or kept burning from the Eve. The first visit the family receives that day is considered important, comparable to New Years Day first-footing in the British Isles. The family may choose someone, usually a young male, to be their first visitor, known as a polaznik, before the arrival of whom no outsider is allowed to enter the house. Early on the morning of Christmas Day he steps into the house, right foot first, and greets the family with "Christ is Born", to which they reply "Truly He is Born." The polaznik then approaches the ognjište and repeatedly strikes the burning log with a poker or a branch to make sparks fly.[2] At the same time he utters a wish that the happiness and prosperity of the household be as abundant as the sparks:[6]
Koliko varnica, toliko sreće u ovoj kući. |
How many sparks, that much happiness in this house. |
The wording of this well-wishing may vary, but its intention is always the same, to invoke happiness and prosperity. The polaznik will then throw a coin into the fire before being presented with a round loaf of bread, the traditional gift for the polaznik, usually accompanied by some other present. The custom to use a domestic animal as a polaznik was kept in some regions until the first half of the 20th century.[6] In Rađevina, the head of the household would lead a sheep into the house, place it between the ognjište and himself, and utter the wishes while striking the badnjak with a branch cut from it, before saying: "We passed one fire, we are not afraid of another." His wife would then kiss him over the sheep after saying "may the ewes kiss the lambs as we kiss each other."[5]
Embers of the badnjak may be used for divination in Jadar. The number of these equal to the sum of grain and livestock sorts grown by the family are taken out from the ognjište and placed on the česnica. Each of the sorts is associated with its own ember on that loaf. The sort whose ember retains its glow longer than the others should be the most productive in the coming year. The log sparking by itself presages a rich harvest of honey. Cooled coals of the badnjak may be placed between the branches of fruit trees; the young trees may be provided also with twigs from the badnjak. Its ash may be spread over the fields and mixed with fodder.[1] Some of the ash may be set aside to be taken with water as a remedy for headache.[4] There are also numerous other regional practices connected with the badnjak.[1]
These ancient traditions have modern, reduced versions. Modern houses usually have no ognjište on which to burn a badnjak, but it may be symbolically represented by several oak twigs, some of which are burnt in a wood-burning kitchen stove and the others placed beside it. Some people chop the badnjak into shorter logs so that they can be put into the hearth and burnt.
The laying of a badnjak on the fire was considered the least a Serbian family could do to show their devotion to Serbian tradition. In
Vatra plama bolje nego igda, |
The fire's burning brighter than ever, |
Public celebration
The badnjak ceremony, originally performed only within the family, became a more public celebration. A custom developed before World War I in the
More and more state institutions, private firms, organizations, and clubs joined the procession each year, and the event began to take on the character of a public holiday. During the 1930s, the laying of badnjak on the fire became a court ritual. It was performed, in the presence of the royal family, by representatives of the army in the Royal Palace's room with a fireplace. At the end of the 1930s in some parts of Yugoslavia, especially Vojvodina and Montenegro, the military badnjak ceremony was performed not in the barracks yard but in a square in the garrison town. An open fire was built, on which the badnjak was placed by an Orthodox priest in the presence of soldiers and citizens. This tradition, symbolizing the unity of state, church, and people, was ended by the outbreak of World War II.[17]
Yugoslavia's socialist government suppressed or discouraged public religious celebrations until the early 1990s. Since then, the Serbian Orthodox Church has, together with local communities, organized public celebrations on Christmas Eve. There are typically three elements to such celebrations: the preparation, the ritual, and the festivity. The preparation consists of cutting down the oak sapling to be used as the badnjak, taking it to the church yard, and preparing drink and food for the assembled parishioners. The ritual includes Vespers, placing the badnjak on the open fire built in the church yard, blessing or consecrating the badnjak, and an appropriate program with songs and recitals. In some parishes they build the fire on which to burn the badnjak not in the church yard but at some other suitable location in their town or village. The festivity consists of gathering around the fire and socializing. Each particular celebration has its own specific traits however, reflecting the traditions of the local community.[17]
The expedition to cut down the badnjak is the basic activity in the preparation part of the celebration. It can be performed by an individual, but it is usually a collective act accompanied by a festive procession that may include
The ritual is the central part of the celebration. Vespers vary from place to place with respect to the time of the beginning of the service, its length and structure. The laying of the badnjak on the fire usually comes after the service, and is done by a priest or by a respected parishioner. Before the burning, the tree may be processionally carried around the church. In the case of more than one badnjak, the trees are placed in the shape of a cross. The assembled devotees throw then into the fire their twig bunches, each representing a small badnjak. The consecration or blessing is performed by a priest: he strews wheat grains over the badnjak,
After the ritual the priest delivers a short sermon, followed by the church choir singing Christmas songs; poems that praise the Nativity of Jesus may be recited. In Montenegro, decasyllable Serbian epics are sung to an accompaniment played on the gusle, a traditional Serbian bowed string instrument. The celebration ends with parishioners gathered around the fire, served with cooked rakia, wine, or tea, and the food allowed during the Nativity Fast.[17] Parishioners may pick a twig from the badnjak and take it home to place in front of their icon, or at another appropriate location.[18]
Although Serbian public religious celebrations, as those of other peoples, were discouraged in Socialist Yugoslavia until the early 1990s, they continued among
Interpretation
The origin of the badnjak is explained by the events surrounding the Nativity of Jesus. According to the
While blessing the badnjak, some priests chant the following prayer: "O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who did plant the
Scholars regard the badnjak customs as practises inherited from the
German scholar and folklorist
Archaeologist
Fire from the domestic hearth was under no circumstances given out of the house on Christmas Eve, not even to a neighbor whose fire had gone out. The reason for this prohibition, according to Čajkanović, was the belief that the Eve is a time when the ancestral spirits, guardians of the family's happiness and prosperity, are especially active in this world. Christmas Eve dinner is a feast prepared in their honor, and they join the family at it. They gather on the straw spread over the floor, and on the hearth. These spirits could be removed from the family if any piece of their fire were taken away by an outsider.[24] In people's words, fire should not be given lest the luck be taken away from the house, or for better crops, or because of bees. Referring to the latter explanation, Čajkanović argues that, in the old religion of the Serbs, the bees were regarded as pure and sacred insects, in whom ancestral spirits could dwell.[24] The same explanation, "because of bees", is also given for the aforementioned custom of putting a piece of the badnjak's first splinter in the dough for the česnica.
The Russian philologist
According to Russian philologist and mythographer Boris Uspensky, Stari Badnjak and Mladi Božić have analogues in East Slavic tradition—Nikola's Dad and Nikola. The name Nikola is a popular reference to Saint Nicholas of Myra, whose feast falls nineteen days before Christmas, on 6 December, his "dad" being celebrated the day before. Nikola is portrayed in East Slavic folklore as merciful and protective towards the common people, patron of animals and agriculture, connected with riches, abundance, and fertility. Uspensky argues that this saint took on attributes of the serpentine god Volos, whose cult was very strong among East Slavs before Christianization. He was the adversary of the dreadful thunder-god Perun, who is in this case reflected in Nikola's Dad.[27]
The notion of a quarrel between Nikola and his "dad" is present in a number of legends. The connection between the father–son pairs of Stari Badnjak–Mladi Božić and Nikola's Dad–Nikola is corroborated by the fact that, in many East Slavic regions, practices characteristic for Christmas have been transferred to the Feast of Saint Nicholas. There is, however, an inversion in the comparison between these two pairs. In the former pair, the first stems from the mythical dragon, and the second from the dragon fighter, while in the latter pair it is vice versa. This inversion explains, by Uspensky, the fact that in some areas Nikola's Dad is celebrated on the day after his son's feast, rather than on the eve of it. In that way, the "dragon" (Nikola) comes before the "dragon fighter" (Nikola's Dad), as is the case with Stari Badnjak and Mladi Božić.[27]
Serbian ethnologist Petar Vlahović has proposed that the noun badnjak and the related adjective badnji (attributive "Christmas Eve") are derived from the root of the verb bdeti ("to be awake"), referring to a custom of staying awake through the night before Christmas Day.
Similar European traditions
The custom that a family solemnly brings a log into the house and lights it on the hearth on Christmas Eve has been recorded in various parts of Europe. In England, a Yule log used to be festively kindled on the domestic hearth so "that sweet luck may come while the log is a-teending", as described by 17th-century poet Robert Herrick. In France, the log had different regional names: chalendal, calignaou, tréfoir, and tréfouet. In Provence, it had to be cut from a fruit tree; it was brought in by the whole family while they sang a carol praying for blessing on the house, that the women might bear children, the nanny-goats kids, and the ewes lambs, and that their grain and wine might abound. Before the log was placed on the fire, the youngest child in the family poured wine on it. Logs were devotionally laid on the domestic fire on Christmas Eve in various parts of Italy; in Tuscany, Christmas is called Festa di Ceppo, literally "feast of log". In the Val di Chiana, the children of the family were blindfolded and commanded to beat the burning log with tongs. Traces of Christmas-log customs can also be found in Germany and Scandinavia. In Thuringia the family placed a Christklotz (Christ log) on the fire before going to bed, so that it might burn all through the night.[2]
In
In Greece, a large log was lit on the hearth on Christmas Eve and kept burning or smoldering through the Twelve Days of Christmas. This was done as a protection against the demons called Kallikantzaroi, believed to be emerging from their dens at night during that period to attack people and damage their property. The fire and smoke from the log was thought to prevent the Kallikantzaroi from entering the house down the chimney.[2] The ritual burning of logs on the Eve was also carried out in Albania. When the buzm, as the log was called there, was about to be brought into the house, a member of the family would go out into the yard, shout the name of the household's head, and proclaim that the buzm was coming and bringing all kinds of delicious things. The head of the household would respond by saying "You are welcome!" and the buzm would be ceremonially brought in, greeted by the family and treated with great respect. The log would be placed on the hearth, and often a significant part of all food and drink in the house would be put on the log and burned together with it.[30]
See also
Notes
- ^ Christmas Eve does not fall on the same day for the Serbs as for the Western Christians, although they celebrate it on the same date—24 December. This is because the Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian used in the West. Since 1900, the Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, and this difference will remain until 2100. During this period, 24 December in the Julian calendar—Christmas Eve for the Serbs—corresponds to 6 January of the following year in the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ In Serbian folklore, European Cornel is regarded as an embodiment of health. There is a saying for a healthy person: zdrav kao dren, "as healthy as Cornel".
- Proto-Indo-European religion.[31]
- ^ A tree felled by a woodcutter was a Proto-Indo-European simile of the adversary killed by the hero (Watkins 1995).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Čajkanović, Veselin (1994). "Бадњак". Речник српских народних веровања о биљкама [Dictionary of Serbian folk beliefs about plants] (in Serbian). edited and supplemented by Vojislav Đurić. Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga. pp. 268–71.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60506-814-5. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Vukmanović, Jovan (1962). "Božićni običaji u Boki Kotorskoj" [Christmas traditions in the Bay of Kotor]. Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slovena (in Serbian). 40. Zagreb: The Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts: 491–503. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28.
- ^ ISBN 86-7494-025-0.
- ^ a b c d e f Đurđev, Aleksandar (1988). "Годишњи обичаји". Рађевина: обичаји, веровања и народно стваралаштво [Rađevina: customs, beliefs, and folk creativity] (in Serbian). Krupanj: Aleksandar Đurđev. pp. 79–90. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
- ^ ISBN 86-83699-08-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kulišić, Špiro (1970). "Бадњак" (in Serbian). Špiro Kulišić, Petar Ž. Petrović, Nikola Pantelić. eds. Српски митолошки речник [Serbian mythological dictionary]. Belgrade: Nolit.
- ^ ISSN 0350-0861.
- ^ a b c Ardalić, Vladimir (1902). "Bukovica: narodni život i običaji: Godišnji običaji" [Bukovica: folk life and customs: Annual traditions]. Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slovena (in Serbian). 7. Zagreb: The Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts: 237–94. Archived from the original on 2010-10-07.
- Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović (1818). "Бадњак". Lexicon serbico-germanico-latinum Српски рјечник [Serbian dictionary] (in Serbian). Vienna: Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ ISBN 86-82197-02-2.
- ^ ISBN 86-331-1946-3.
- ^ Milićević, Milan Đ. (1867). Живот Срба сељака [Life of rural Serbs]. Гласник Српског Ученог Друштва (in Serbian). 5 (22). Belgrade: Serbian Learned Society: 122. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ Čajkanović, Veselin (1973). "Бадњи дан и Божић". Мит и религија у Срба: изабране студије [Myth and religion of the Serbs: selected studies] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga.
- ^ on 2010-04-14.
- ISBN 86-379-0134-4.
- ^ ISSN 0354-6705. Archived from the originalon 2011-07-16.
- ^ ]
- ^ "It's Christmas For Serbs; Midland Program All Set". East Liverpool Review. 72 (61). East Liverpool, Ohio: Ogden Newspapers, Inc.: 1 January 4, 1951.
A flare parade and burning of the Yule Log Saturday night will touch off the three-day observance of Serbian Christmas at Midland ... Cars with lighted flares will parade through town before the burning of the log in Midland Heights. At 8:30, Very Rev. Fr. Milorad Dobrota will bless the Yule log at the Serbian National Home.
- ^ "Serbs plan Christmas". The Montana Standard. Butte, Montana: Janet Taylor. January 4, 1975. p. 5.
The 200 local families of Serb descent, with their 700 members, will mark the longstanding traditions in their own way. [...] After that will come the Serbian yule log ceremony in old world tradition in the parish center, followed by a parish fellowship event.
- ^ Clark, Athanasios (2009). "Icon of the Nativity". Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ a b Čajkanović, Veselin (1973). "Култ дрвета и биљака код старих Срба". Мит и религија у Срба: изабране студије [Myth and religion of the Serbs: selected studies] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga.
- ^ ISBN 86-7547-037-1.
- ^ a b Čajkanović, Veselin (1973). "Три божићна обичаја". Мит и религија у Срба: изабране студије [Myth and religion of the Serbs: selected studies] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Srpska književna zadruga.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-508595-2.
- Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović (1841). "Пјесме од коледе". Српске народне пјесме [Serbian folk songs] (in Serbian). Vol. 1. Vienna: Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. pp. 120–21. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ Lomonosov Moscow State University. pp. 42–44. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
- ISSN 0352-4000.
- ^ Komitska, Anita. "Бъдник". Коледа (in Bulgarian). Asen Gramenov. Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-570-1.
- ISBN 86-7494-025-0.
Further reading
Čajkanović (1994) lists the following ethnographic publications (in Serbian) for more details on the badnjak:
- Srpski etnografski zbornik (Српски етнографски зборник [Serbian ethnographic proceedings], Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts)
- 50: 246ff. 1934.
- 58: 222, 224, 227. 1948.
- 64: 157ff. 1951.
- 73: 107–10. 1958.
- Glasnik etnografskog muzeja u Beogradu (Гласник Етнографског музеја у Београду [Bulletin of the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade], Belgrade: Ethnographic Museum)
- 22–23: 150ff. 1960.
- 26: 71ff. 1963.
- 27: 403–6. 1964.
- 42: 410–13. 1978.
- Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Sarajevu (Гласник Земаљског музеја у Сарајеву [Bulletin of the National Museum in Sarajevo], Sarajevo: National Museum)
- 24–25: 310. 1970.
- 29: 93ff. 1974.
- 30–31: 55. 1978.
External links
Photographs of Christmas Eve celebrations in 2009:
- St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Hermitage, Pennsylvania
- The Eparchy of Vranje, Serbia Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
Video:
- Serbian Christmas Celebrated in Jackson, California, aired on KCRA-TV on 7 January 2010