One Christmas Eve it is the custom here to go out in the mountains and find a Oak tree and bring home a branch from it Christmas eve morning. It stays in your home all day and "collects" all the bad thoughts or bad vibes that have been in your home over the past year. Then at night you burn the oak branch in your fireplace and your home is "clean" of all bad vibes for the new year. In the villages they still do this but here in the city, not everyone has a fireplace as most of us live in apartments. So now the tradition is to burn the oak branch in a bonfire. So last night we went to the largest orthodox church here (they have the bonfire at churches) and this is what we saw. Of course we bought a branch on the way...they sell them on the street like Christmas Trees.
Here is a Oak branch seller along the street. Each branch cost one euro.
Us with our branches as we arrive at the bonfire.
Throwing the branches (all the "bad" stuff) into the bonfire. It was hot and I needed to take off my jacket!
In the background is the big Orthodox church with a stage out front with children singing jingle bells (in Serbian) Right behind us is the bonfire.
Close up of the huge bonfire....the fire truck was standing by...
Some even put a small oak branch on their cars...
Walking back to our apartment we ran into our translator and her family on their way to the bonfire. These are her 2 boys. Cute kids!
That's all for now!
That's a neat tradition! Its fascinating to learn customs of other countries.
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