Brace Yourselves, Slavas are Coming

When you say winter in Serbia, you mean Slavas are coming!

The Slava, also called Krsna Slava, is a Serbian Orthodox Church tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron saint among Serbs. But what does this actually mean? It means tons of food, drinks, cake, and most importantly, friends and family.

Serbs usually regard the Slava as their most significant and most solemn feast day. It is inherited from the head of the household—normally the father—to sons. Daughters inherit the Slava only if they stay in the home, while married women normally celebrate their husbands' saint.

And if you have any doubt about the importance of Slavas to Serbs, Slava is officially included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Thus, Slava will be remembered as Serbia's "first entry" on the list of world's intangible cultural heritage.

Interesting facts:

1. Traditional foods that are prepared for the feast are: "Slavski kolač", decorated with various symbols, such as a cross, ‘dove of peace’ and others relating to the family; and žito - boiled wheat.

2. There are two types of Slava: mrsne and posne. If the celebration takes place during the period of fasting, the feast consists of animal-free (with the exemption of fish) foods, thus making it a posna slava. Otherwise it’s a mrsna slava.

3. There are several Slavas which majority of orthodox Serbs celebrate. The most common Slava is St Nicholas’ Day (Nikoljdan) observed on the 19th of December. The second most widely celebrated Slava is Saint George’s Day (Đurđevdan) which is dedicated to Saint George and celebrated on the 6th of May. There is one Slava that every child in Serbia has celebrated for a portion of its life. It is the Slava of all schools, also known as Saint Sava’s Day.

4. Tradition says “na slavu se ne zove, na slavu se dolazi”, meaning everyone is welcome, invited or not.

If you ever have the chance to go to someone’s Slava, here are some tips: 

- When you enter the house you should say “Srećna slava domaćine/domaćice“, which means “Happy slava, host”. If you want to make it more traditional, you should add “da slavite još 100 godina”... 

- It is common for guests to bring wine, coffee and chocolate, or other gifts, depending on the closeness with the host family. 

- To gain a good insight into how Slavas were celebrated in the 19th century, we suggest you watch the Serbian movie Ivko’s Feast (Ivkova slava). It’s a film about Ivko, a man who celebrates Đurđevdan with people across the town of Niš, and gets in all sorts of comical situations. 

(Written by Bojana Zimonjić and Tijana Šipka)