Serbian culture

Serbian culture

Tradition in the life of a nation, in addition to language and religion, are customs. That's what the old Serbian saying tells us, "it's better to sell the land than to lose the custom."

The birth of a child is one of the happiest moments for parents. The celebration of the birth of a child is celebrated one or two days after the birth. At home, the father gathers his relatives and everyone rejoices with music, food and drink. Also, one of the significant customs is tearing the father's shirt. It would seem strange to foreigners, but this custom has great symbolism. Namely, a newborn child is swaddled with a torn shirt.

Customs for the birth of a child

We also have a lot of different customs related to the birth of a child. A special one is called "babine". After all, babine are the first meeting with a child. On that day, the whole family comes and visits the child. When visiting a child, a gift in the form of money must be brought. Also, a red thread is tied around the child's hand to protect against spells.

Customs for the birth of a child

Baptism of a child is a big and important event for every family. Baptism is the sacrament by which a child becomes a Christian and a member of the church. This important event takes place in the church together with the godfather and the family. One of the main customs at baptism is to immerse the child in water and cut some hair.

Customs for the birth of a child

Customs for the wedding

Shooting at an apple is a custom based on the fact that the groom must shoot an apple with a rifle, if it knocks the apple to the ground, it symbolically shows his willingness to protect his family in the future. Another custom is trampling, which means newlyweds try to step on their spouse first, because it is believed that whoever does it first will have the last word in the house.

Customs for the wedding

Before entering the groom's home, the bride should lift the youngest male child from his family, called "nakonče", above her head and turn him three times in a circle in order to give birth to many healthy children in marriage. Also throwing Biedermeier, a custom performed by the bride, whichever girl catches it gets married next.

Customs for the holidays

For the majority of people of the Orthodox faith, the celebration of "slava" is very important. Slava is an ancient custom in which a Christian saint is celebrated with special rites and feasts. It is customary to prepare a celebratory cake on the eve of the celebration, which the priest cuts and fills with wine.

Customs for the holidays

On Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree is first brought into the house and later lit with the words: "How many sparks, that many coins, health, happiness..." after that the children look for sweets and coins in the hay while making sounds of chickens.

Customs for the holidays

In Serbia, besides the slava, the biggest holidays are Christmas and Easter. On Christmas morning, it is customary to shoot a gun, thereby announcing the arrival of Christmas. According to custom, people greet each other with the words: "Hristos se rodi (Christ is born)" and say "Vaistinu se rodi (Truly he is born)". This is one of the happiest holidays because the whole family gathers on that day.

Customs for the holidays

Easter is the second major Christian holiday. According to some customs, eggs are dyed red. There is a decorated bowl with painted eggs on the table and there is one rule, which is that the host takes the egg first, followed by the rest of the household. It is customary for people on that day to greet each other with: "Hristos Voskrese (Christ is Risen)" and say "Vaistinu Voskrese (The True Resurrection)".

Culture

Kolo is a UNESCO List of Intagible Cultural Heritage inscribed. Kolo is a traditional Serbian dance. Every part of the country has their own type of dance.

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