Thebadnjak (Serbian Cyrillic:бадњак,pronounced[bǎdɲaːk]), also calledveseljak (весељак,pronounced[ʋɛˈsɛ̌ʎaːk], literally "the one who brings joy" inSerbian), is a tree branch or entire tree that is central toSerbian Christmas celebrations. It is placed on a fire onChristmas Eve[Note 1] and its branches are later brought home by worshipers. The tree from which thebadnjak is cut, preferably a young, straight and undamagedoak, is ceremonially felled early on the morning of Christmas Eve. The felling, preparation, bringing in, and laying on the fire, are surrounded by elaborate rituals, with many regional variations. The burning of the log is accompanied by prayers that the coming year brings food, happiness, love, luck, and riches. The log burns on throughoutChristmas Day, when the first visitor strikes it with a poker or a branch to make sparks fly, while wishing that the family's happiness and prosperity be as abundant as the sparks. As mostSerbs today live in towns and cities, thebadnjak is often symbolically represented by a cluster of oak twigs with brown leaves attached, with which the home is decorated on Christmas Eve.
Since the early 20th century, the Serbianbadnjak tradition has also been celebrated more publicly. BeforeWorld War I, soldiers of theKingdom of Serbia developed the custom of laying abadnjak on a fire in theirbarracks. In the succeedingKingdom of Yugoslavia, the militarybadnjak ceremony was further elaborated and standardized in army service regulations, but the tradition ended at the outbreak ofWorld War II. Since the early 1990s, theSerbian Orthodox Church has, together with local communities, organized public celebrations on Christmas Eve in which thebadnjak plays a central role. Parishioners festively cut the sapling to be used as thebadnjak and take it to their church, where it is consecrated by a priest before being ceremonially placed on afire pit in the churchyard.
The festive kindling of thebadnjak commemorates the fire that—according to Serbian folk tradition—the shepherds ofBethlehem built in the cave whereJesus wasborn, to warm the Baby Jesus andhis mother throughout the night. Thebadnjak may also be seen as asymbol of the cross upon which Christ wascrucified, the warmth of its fire symbolizing thesalvation which, in theChristian belief, the crucifixion made possible for mankind. Scholars regard the tradition as inherited from theold Slavic religion. They interpret thebadnjak as an incarnation of the spirit of vegetation, and as a divinity who dies by burning to be reborn, to whom sacrifices and prayers were offered for the fertility of fields, the health and happiness of the family. The burning symbolized sunshine, securing the vitalizing power of the sun in the coming year. OtherSouth Slavic peoples have similar traditions, and the custom that a family brings a log into the house and burns it on Christmas Eve has also been recorded in other parts of Europe.
Traditionally, thebadnjak ceremony begins on Christmas Eve, but there are many regional variations surrounding the details.[1] Early in the morning the head of each family, usually accompanied by several male relatives, selects and fells the tree from which a log will be cut for their household. The group announces its departure by firing guns or small celebratorymortars calledprangija.[2] TheTurkey oak is the most popular species of tree selected in most regions, but other oaks are also chosen.Beech,pear,quince,hornbeam, andplum trees are used in easternSerbia, although less frequently than oak trees.[1] In some areas ofMontenegrin Littoral where oaks do not grow,olives,bay laurels,elms, orstrawberry trees are used instead. Young, straight, and undamaged specimens are preferred.[3] Thebadnjak may be more valued if it is felled stealthily in someone else's rather than in one's own woods.[4]
Generally, each household prepares onebadnjak,[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 theBay of Kotor, each household prepares four sets, as they are burned there not only on Christmas Eve, but also on the eves ofNew Year's Day,Epiphany, and the Feast ofSaint Sava.[7]In Grbalj, south-west ofKotor, the number of the logs is equal to the number of people in the household. Aterebinth is cut down for thebadnjak associated with the woman of the house, called thebadnjačica ([badˈɲatʃitsa]), meaning she-badnjak.[3] The same term is also used in other areas where only a pair of oak logs is cut, in which casebadnjačica refers to the smaller of the two. InResava, thebadnjačica is prepared from anItalian oak, and thebadnjak from a Turkey oak.[4] In Zagarač, central Montenegro, both of the logs may be cut from the same tree if it is tall enough, thebadnjačica then coming from the upper, thinner part of the trunk.[8] The pair is in some regions joined by a third log called thebadnjačić—the child-badnjak.[4] Although young and thin trees are usually used for thebadnjak, in northernDalmatia's region ofBukovica two relatively thick logs with diameters of 30 to 50 centimeters (12 to 20 inches) are prepared, plus one thinner log (called trinity).[9] In other areas dry oak branches are collected from the ground, and used instead of a log.[6]
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 theSign of the Cross, says a prayer, and kisses the tree.[3][5] He may also explain to thebadnjak why it will be cut: "I have come to you to take to my home, to be my faithful helper to every progress and improvement, in the house, in the pen, in the field, and in every place."[7] He then cuts it slantwise on its eastern side, using an axe. Some men put gloves on before they start to cut the tree, and from then on never touch thebadnjak with their bare hands. The tree should fall to the east, unhindered by surrounding trees. It must not be left half-cut, as then it will curse the house of the man.[7] In some regions, if the tree is not cut down after the third blow of the axe, then it must be pulled and twisted until its trunk breaks. The resultingbadnjak has a so-called "beard", the part of the trunk at which it broke off from the base of the tree.[6] InŠumadija, half of a circular loaf of bread is left on the stump, the other half being eaten on the way back home.[4] In Zagarač, the stump is covered with moss or dry leaves, and it will be visited again in spring: the stump sprouting through the cover is an omen of good luck and prosperity.[8]
The first splinter from the tree is taken home and placed where prosperity is especially desired, such as beside thebeehives, in the hen roost, or between milk basins in thedairy room, in the hope that the coming year'skaymak will clot to form thick layers in the basins. It may also be placed beneath somebaker's yeast, so that the prosperity of the household may grow like yeast.[6] InSemberija, a piece of the splinter is put in the dough for thečesnica, 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 thebadnjak 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.[3] Its branches may be lopped off, or not, depending on the local custom. Once in the home, eachbadnjak is leaned vertically against the house beside the entrance door.[6] In Montenegrin Littoral, each should be adorned with leaved bay laurel, olive,juniper, androsemary twigs, which are tied to the trunk's top, middle, and base withivy or red silken or woolen threads.[3] In parts of eastern Serbia andKosovo thebadnjak is wrapped in a man's shirt.[1]
In the Rađevina region of western Serbia, centered around the town ofKrupanj, thebadnjak prepared for each household is cut into three logs, the most important of which is thedozemak—the log that comes from the part of the trunk that grew nearest to the ground.[5] In Resava,Levač, Temnić, andJadar of Serbia, as well as inOzren andRomanija of Bosnia, thebadnjak is cut into three logs associated respectively with the men, the women, and the children.[4]
In the evening, a man of the family brings theirbadnjak into the house. If there is more than onebadnjak, 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 thebadnjak he carries. In theclan ofKuči, the woman touches the "beard" of the mainbadnjak with a whole loaf of bread.[7] In Montenegro, two women holding lit candles stand on either side of the house door as thebadnjak is carried in.[6][3]
Upon entering the house the man approaches the fireplace, calledognjište ([ˈɔɡɲiːʃtɛ])—the hearth of anognjište is similar to acampfire, in that it has no vertical surround. He lays thebadnjak 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 thebadnjak andbadnjačica, 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-centuryHerzegovina, 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 thebadnjak 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 thebadnjak. 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] InČečava, 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 theBay 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 inapotropaic 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 thebadnjak; the main log is laid on the fire with its head pointing east.[3] In central Serbia, thebadnjak is laid with its thicker end sticking out from theognjište. The household's shepherds would kiss over it to ensure an abundance of lambs in the coming year. InGruža it is coated with honey which is then licked by children.[13] At the side ofognjište where the thicker end is situated, the family may place aplowshare, 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 thebadnjak is laid on the fire.[11]
The head of the household takes a jug of wine and pours some on thebadnjak; in some regions, he may strew wheat grains over the logs.[2][3] He then proposes atoast: "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 nameveseljak, literally "jovial one", is used along withbadnjak 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 thebadnjak, 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]
Thebadnjak 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 thebadnjak 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 verbpreveseliti used instead of the commonpregoreti to express "to burn through" when referring to thebadnjak, which has the sameroot as the nounveseljak. 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 thebadnjak burning.[6]Once thebadnjak 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, andapiaries, 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 newbadnjak, as a symbol of continuity.[3] In Kosovo, a part of thebadnjak is preserved and burned again on New Years Day and Epiphany.[7]
Thebadnjak 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 Dayfirst-footing in theBritish Isles. The family may choose someone, usually a young male, to be their first visitor, known as apolaznik, 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." Thepolaznik then approaches theognjište 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.
Koliko varnica, toliko u domaćinskom džepu novaca.
Koliko varnica, toliko u toru ovaca.
Koliko varnica, toliko prasadi i jaganjaca.
Koliko varnica, toliko gusaka i piladi,
a najviše zdravlja i veselja.
How many sparks, that much happiness in this house.
How many sparks, that much money in the household head's pocket.
How many sparks, that many sheep in the pen.
How many sparks, that many pigs and lambs.
How many sparks, that many geese and chickens,
and most of all, health and joy.
The wording of this well-wishing may vary, but its intention is always the same, to invoke happiness and prosperity. Thepolaznik will then throw a coin into the fire before being presented with a round loaf of bread, the traditional gift for thepolaznik, usually accompanied by some other present. The custom to use a domestic animal as apolaznik 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 theognjište and himself, and utter the wishes while striking thebadnjak 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 thebadnjak may be used fordivination in Jadar. The number of these equal to the sum of grain and livestock sorts grown by the family are taken out from theognjište and placed on thečesnica. 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 thebadnjak may be placed between the branches of fruit trees; the young trees may be provided also with twigs from thebadnjak. 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 thebadnjak.[1]
These ancient traditions have modern, reduced versions. Modern houses usually have noognjište on which to burn abadnjak, 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 thebadnjak into shorter logs so that they can be put into the hearth and burnt.[5] The most prevalent custom, however, is to place a cluster of oak twigs, with their brown leaves still attached, in whichever location in the home the family feels is appropriate. This cluster is also called thebadnjak, and it is usually kept in the home until next Christmas Eve. For the convenience of those living in towns and cities, such littlebadnjaks can be bought at marketplaces or distributed in churches. In a common arrangement, the cluster of oak twigs is bound together with twigs ofEuropean Cornel[Note 2] and several stalks of straw.[6]
The laying of abadnjak on the fire was considered the least a Serbian family could do to show their devotion to Serbian tradition. InNjegoš's epic poemThe Mountain Wreath, the plot of which takes place in 18th-century Montenegro,Voivode Batrić urges converts toIslam to return toChristianity andSerbdom: "[...] Lay the Serbian Christmas-log [badnjak] on the fire, paint theEaster eggs various colours, observe with care theLent andChristmas fasts. As for the rest, do what your heart desires!"[15] Petrović-Njegoš describes the holiday atmosphere that surrounds the burningbadnjak on Christmas Eve through the words of Abbot Stefan, one of the mains characters ofThe Mountain Wreath:
Vatra plama bolje nego igda,
prostrta je slama ispred ognja,
prekršćeni na ognju badnjaci;
puške puču, vrte se peciva,
gusle gude, a kola pjevaju,
s unučađu đedovi igraju,
po tri pasa vrte se u kola,
sve bi reka jednogodišnici;
sve radošću divnom naravnjeno.
A što mi se najviše dopada,
što svačemu treba nazdraviti![16]
The fire's burning brighter than ever,
the straw is spread in front of the fire,
Thebadnjaks are laid on the fire crossways;
the rifles crack, and roasts on spits do turn,
thegusle plays, and the dancers sing,
grandfathers dance with their young grandchildren,
in thekolo join three generations,
it seems they're almost of the same age;
everything is filled with bright mirth and joy.
But what I like best of all, so help me,
one has to drink a toast to everything![15]
Thebadnjak ceremony, originally performed only within the family, became a more public celebration. A custom developed before World War I in theKingdom of Serbia to lay thebadnjak on a fire built in military barracks, so that the soldiers stationed there over Christmas could share in the holiday atmosphere. In the succeedingKingdom of Yugoslavia, the militarybadnjak ceremony was standardized in army service regulations. On Christmas Eve, under the command of a specially appointed officer, the representatives of military units of a garrison formed a festive procession on horses, accompanied with music. Members of citizens' associations and other civilians of the garrison town usually joined the procession as it proceeded to the nearest wood to collect thebadnjak. They felled a set number of trees, dedicated respectively to theRoyal Palace, the military command of the town, the respective commands of units of the garrison, its oldest officer, and its officers' assembly house. The procession brought the trees to the barracks, in whose yard an open fire was built. The garrison commander then placed the trees ceremonially on the fire, and gave an appropriate address.[17]
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 ofbadnjak on the fire became a court ritual. It was performed, in the presence of theroyal 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, especiallyVojvodina and Montenegro, the militarybadnjak ceremony was performed not in the barracks yard but in a square in the garrison town. An open fire was built, on which thebadnjak 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 thebadnjak, taking it to the church yard, and preparing drink and food for the assembled parishioners. The ritual includesVespers, placing thebadnjak on the open fire built in the church yard, blessing or consecrating thebadnjak, and an appropriate program with songs and recitals. In some parishes they build the fire on which to burn thebadnjak 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 thebadnjak 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 includecarriages and horsemen. After the tree to be used as thebadnjak is cut down, it is adorned with straw, ribbons, oranges, apples, and sometimes with theSerbian flag. In some parishes more than onebadnjak is used in the celebration, and a different tree is felled for each. Often bunches of leaved oak twigs are prepared to be distributed to the congregation gathered at the church. Eachbadnjak is festively taken to the church gate, often transported on carriages. Thebadnjak may be taken into the churchyard without any ceremony, or it may be followed by a procession, as is the case in parts ofRepublika Srpska and theBay of Kotor.[17]
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 thebadnjak 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 onebadnjak, the trees are placed in the shape of a cross. The assembled devotees throw then into the fire their twig bunches, each representing a smallbadnjak. The consecration or blessing is performed by a priest: he strews wheat grains over thebadnjak,censes it while singing theTroparion of the Nativity, and as he intones prayers, he pours wine and spreads honey on it. Instead of applying wine and honey,holy water may be sprinkled on the tree by dipping a bunch ofbasil into a bowl with the water. This rite is generally performed after the placing on the fire, although it may happen before, in which case the consecration may be performed in the church itself or in its yard.[17][18]
After the ritual the priest delivers a short sermon, followed by the church choir singing Christmas songs; poems that praise theNativity of Jesus may be recited. In Montenegro,decasyllableSerbian epics are sung to an accompaniment played on thegusle, a traditional Serbian bowed string instrument. The celebration ends with parishioners gathered around the fire, served with cookedrakia, wine, or tea, and the food allowed during theNativity Fast.[17] Parishioners may pick a twig from thebadnjak and take it home to place in front of theiricon, 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 amongSerbian Americans. The publicbadnjak ceremony was held in Serbian Orthodox parishes in the United States during that period.[19][20]
The origin of thebadnjak is explained by the events surrounding the Nativity of Jesus. According to theGospel of Luke2:1–20,the Theotokos gave birth to Christ at Bethlehem, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger. ByHoly Tradition, the manger was located in acave near that town.[21] An angel of the Lord appeared to a group of shepherds who were keeping watch over their flock by night in that region, and told them that the Savior was born at Bethlehem. They went there and found the baby lying in the manger, as the angel described to them. By folk tradition, the shepherds brought firewood to the cave and built a fire to warm the newborn Christ and his mother throughout the night. The burning of thebadnjak commemorates this event.[6][9]
While blessing thebadnjak, some priests chant the following prayer: "O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who did plant theTree of Life in paradise so that it might bestow upon us eternal blessedness, bless also now this tree which is asymbol ofThy cross and the Tree of Life in paradise, and which reminds us of Thy holy birth and of the logs which the shepherds of Bethlehem kindled to warm themselves when they came to worship Thee, the divine infant, and thereby prefigured Thy salvation-bearing cross."[18]
Scholars regard thebadnjak customs as practises inherited from theold Slavic religion. In the pre-Christian religion of the Serbs, as shown by Serbian scholarVeselin Čajkanović, there were trees seen as dwelling places of spirits or divinities. Čajkanović argues that there were also trees seen as divinitiesper se. He considers thebadnjak as a convincing example of the latter. Salutations, prayers, and sacrifices such as grain, wine, and honey are offered to him (the namebadnjak is of masculine gender inSerbian); he is consistently treated not as a tree but as a person.[22]
German scholar and folkloristWilhelm Mannhardt holds that the log represented an incarnation of the spirit of vegetation.[2] The sacrifices offered to thebadnjak were meant to guarantee the fertility of fields, the health and happiness of the family.[23] Its burning symbolized sunshine, and was intended to secure the vitalizing power of the sun in the ensuing year.[2] The lighting of the log could be regarded as a fusion oftree worship andfire worship, attested in Slavic customs; e.g.,Istrians fed the logs lighted onSt. John's Day by sprinkling wheat upon them.[23] Čajkanović characterizes the pre-Christianbadnjak as a divinity who dies by burning to be reborn, comparing it in this respect withAttis,Osiris,Adonis, andSandan. He also proposes that the crosses made from the thicker end of the log may have originated fromidols representing deities comparable with theRomanLares, the cruciform having developed from ananthropomorphic shape of the idols. Thebadnjak is preferably cut from an oak, which was the most respected tree in the old Slavic religion, associated with the supreme godPerun.[22]
ArchaeologistSir Arthur Evans was a guest in a Serbian highlander family in the region ofKrivošije, Montenegrin Littoral. Analyzing the practices, he concluded that thebadnjak customs were connected withancestor worship. The lighting of the log on theognjište could be seen as a solemn annual rekindling of the sacred hearth fire, regarded as the center of the family life and the seat of the ancestors. The belief that ancestral spirits dwell in the domestic hearth was attested among Slavic and other peoples.[2] Fire worship in the old Slavic religion was mostly transformed into the cult of domestic fire, and thus joined with ancestor worship. A trace of sacrifice to the fire is the coin thrown into it by thepolaznik after the ritual of making sparks fly from thebadnjak.[23]
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 thebadnjak's first splinter in the dough for thečesnica.
The Russian philologistVladimir Toporov has proposed that the felling of thebadnjak was originally a reenactment of the mythical fight in whichMladi Božić ("young god") slew his fatherStari Badnjak ("old Badnjak").[25]Božić, thediminutive form of the nounbog, meaning god, is also the Serbian for "Christmas". The characters ofStari Badnjak andMladi Božić are found in old Serbian Christmas songs, where they are not explicitly referred to as father and son, and no fight between them is mentioned.[26] By Toporov, the former personified the last day of the Old Year, the climax of the power ofChaos, and the latter personified the first day of the New Year, the beginning of reestablishment ofCosmic Order. He regardsStari Badnjak andMladi Božić as originating from respectively the dragon and the dragon slayer of theProto-Indo-European mythology.[Note 3]Stari Badnjak would be related to both theVedic serpentAhi Budhnya ("the Dragon of the Deep") killed byIndra, and theGreek dragonPython killed byApollo.[Note 4] The wordsbadnjak,budhnya, andpython stem from theProto-Indo-Europeanroot*bhudh-, denoting bottom, foundation, depths, and related notions.[25]
According to Russian philologist and mythographerBoris Uspensky,Stari Badnjak andMladi Božić have analogues inEast Slavic tradition—Nikola's Dad and Nikola. The name Nikola is a popular reference toSaint 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 godVolos, 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 ofStari 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 withStari Badnjak andMladi Božić.[27]
Serbian ethnologist Petar Vlahović has proposed that the nounbadnjak and the related adjectivebadnji (attributive "Christmas Eve") are derived from the root of the verbbdeti ("to be awake"), referring to a custom of staying awake through the night before Christmas Day.[5] The same etymology of the adjectivebadnji has also been proposed byVuk Stefanović Karadžić, 19th-century Serbian philologist, systematizer oforal literature, and ethnographer.[12]
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, aYule 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 poetRobert Herrick. In France, the log had different regional names:chalendal,calignaou,tréfoir, andtréfouet. InProvence, 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; inTuscany, Christmas is calledFesta di Ceppo, literally "feast of log". In theVal 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. InThuringia the family placed aChristklotz (Christ log) on the fire before going to bed, so that it might burn all through the night.[2]
InCroatian tradition, objects of two different types are referred to asbadnjak. The first type includes leaved branches cut from Turkey oaks orhazel trees, up to 2 meters (6.6 ft) long with as manycatkins as possible. Such a branch used to be placed on Christmas Eve morning above the house door, under the eaves, or on the roof, and had an aesthetic role. The other type includes logs cut usually from oak trunks. In the evening the family used to ritually bring three such logs into the house and burn them on the hearth. These practices are no longer performed, but in some places a modified form ofbadnjak is used: a cross is carved into the bark of pieces of firewood which are burned in kitchen stoves on Christmas Eve.[28] In Bulgaria, the youngest man of the family goes on the Eve into a forest to cut down an oak, elm, or pear tree, which will be used as thebadnik (бъдник). After the man brings it into the house, a hole is bored in one end of thebadnik and filled with wine, cooking oil, andincense. The hole is plugged, and that end of the log is wrapped with a white linen cloth before thebadnik is festively burned on the hearth.[29]
In Greece, a large log was lit on the hearth on Christmas Eve and kept burning or smoldering through theTwelve Days of Christmas. This was done as a protection against the demons calledKallikantzaroi, 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 theKallikantzaroi from entering the house down the chimney.[2] The ritual burning of logs on the Eve was also carried out in Albania. When thebuzm, 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 thebuzm was coming and bringing all kinds of delicious things. The head of the household would respond by saying "You are welcome!" and thebuzm 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]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)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.
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.
Čajkanović (1994) lists the followingethnographic publications (in Serbian) for more details on thebadnjak:
Photographs of Christmas Eve celebrations in 2009:
Video: