Monday, January 12, 2015

Macedonian Christmas






Last week was Christmas in Macedonia. It seemed to be a never ending Christmas season for me with advent starting in early December and then the season continuing, well after our Christmas, with the Macedonian Christmas on January 7th. Christmas is a 3 day event here in Macedonia. 





The day before Christmas Eve, it is a tradition to have a big bonfire with family and friends. There were people gathering around different bonfires all throughout the town. I could see glimmers of light among the sea of darkness in Kavadarci. My host parents invited me to their bonfire which was right near the river and very close to our house. We were welcomed by their friends with homemade wine and  Rakia (a very strong brandy type of drink)and snacks. It was not your typical bonfire food but consisted of pickled vegetables, salami and cheese. Later they set up a little grill and grilled sausages and some other meat. 



Cheers to friendship and homemade wine!


The grill they set up to roast the meat 

 A group of local singers came over to our bonfire and began playing their instruments and singing traditional Macedonian songs. Everyone in our group began dancing the traditional dance called the Oro. Macedonians are very passionate about their traditional music and can listen to it for hours upon end and can dance the Oro the whole time. (Now just imagine how long weddings are here!) My host parents insisted that I dance the Oro with them. If you know me, you know how much I hate dancing but thankfully the Oro is not complicated and I was able to follow along!






Another Christmas tradition is to make homemade bread and put a coin in it. Each person takes a piece of the bread and whoever gets the coin, has good luck for the year. One of friends made homemade bread with a coin in it. At first I thought it was mini cinnamon rolls from my first glance! (Can you tell what treat I am missing?!) One of my host dad's friends got the coin. 


The guy on the far left is the one who got the coin!

It is also a tradition to burn old furniture in the bonfire. (there is no such thing as bulk trash pickup so something needs to be done with it!) One of the locals brought an old wardrobe and added that to the fire! 




Christmas Eve in Macedonia, or Бадник as it's called here, consisted of a family meal. My host mom spent the previous day making a lot of the food and continued making the rest on Christmas Eve when she got home from work. I watched her make some of the dishes so I could learn how to make typical dishes. It is a tradition that the meal is completely vegan with no meat or anything from animals. This was the perfect meal for me! The meal consisted of mashed beans, Tavče gravče (a baked bean dish), boiled then roasted butternut squash, Ajvar (a relish like spread made from dried red peppers and garlic), roasted chestnuts, dried fruits (prunes, dates, apricots), sarma (rice and mushrooms rolled in cabbage and baked), a sauce for the sarma made from some of the cabbage juice, nuts and 2 puff pastry dishes, one filled with pumpkin and one filled with leeks. Of course wine was served. 


Look at all the homemade vegan food! 

The most exciting part of the meal was the homemade bread with the coin. My host grandmother made the bread and it was heavenly! Seriously the best homemade bread I have ever eaten! It was so fluffy and light. My host mother got the coin and my host brother was so upset that he cried and left the dinner and wouldn't come back. He got the coin last year and was hoping for it again. My host mom will now have a year full of happiness as per the tradition! 


The bread with the coin hidden inside 


One thing that perplexed me was that I was really the only one that ate. Игор (pronounced Egor), my host brother left the table and didn't eat and then my host sister Емилија (pronounced Emelia) usually doesn't eat much and my host parents ate very little. They were happy to keep feeding me but I felt awkward being the only one eating! 


Another tradition is that all of the food needs to be left out on the table all night and can only be removed in the morning. Apparently this brings good luck or happiness for the home. 

Christmas day was much calmer then I am used to. My host mother worked most of the day and my host dad was out with friends. I told my brother "Merry Christmas" in Macedonian and he told he didn't even know it was Christmas! We went to the church around 4:30 to light candles and say a quick prayer but we did not attend a service. This was a little disappointing. I really wanted to see an Orthodox Christmas mass. 

We went to my host Grandmother's house around 5 for dinner or ручек (which is really translated to lunch). They eat dinner around 9 or 10 PM here. My host grandmother even made me my own meal since I couldn't eat the main meal. I was so touched! Once again I was really the only one who ate along with the Grandpa. Everyone watched me eat for most f the meal so I felt like I had to eat my whole plate even though I was stuffed. 

My host uncle came over with his kids but apparently there wasn't enough food for everyone so they went to a friend's house for dinner! 

After dinner we listened to traditional music and they brought out photo albums of when the Grandpa was in a rock band! Visiting my host grandparents is one of my favorite things to do here in Kavadarci. They have huge hearts and we always do so much laughing and story telling when we are together. 


My host grandparents along with my host mom and host brother and sister, I am wearing the sweater my host mom got me for New Years

The celebrations didn't end there. On Friday was the Christmas party in Kreactiv, which is my fellow volunteer's organization. 2 volunteers, Glenn and Max, came to visit from the neighboring town for the party. There was many traditional desserts, chestnuts, fruit and even mashed beans and sarma again. We had the bread with the coin in it and it was still warm when we ate it. On of the main volunteers got the coin. Of course traditional music was played and we danced the Oro. There was a white elephant gift exchange. 




Max, Glenn, Jasmine and I after the Kreactiv Christmas party 


Seeing how a different country celebrates Christmas makes one realize just how deeply rooted some traditions and customs are in a culture. Having the opportunity to see how Macedonian celebrates Christmas helped broaden my cultural lens and gave me a deeper appreciation for the Christmas traditions celebrated with my family back home. I look forward to seeing how Macedonians celebrate each of the holidays in this upcoming year. 

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