Serbian Christmas traditions

The Serbs celebrate Christmas for three consecutive days, beginning with Christmas Day. The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar, as per which Christmas Day (December 25) falls currently on January 7 of the Gregorian Calendar. This day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas, and the following two are accordingly called the second, and the third day of Christmas. During this festive time, one is to greet another person with “Christ is Born!”, which should be responded to with “Truly He is Born”.^{note 1} The Serbian name for Christmas is Božić (Cyrillic: Божић, pronounced [ˈboʒit͡ɕ]), which means the young or little God. This holiday surpasses all other holidays celebrated by Serbs, with respect to the diversity of applied folk customs and rituals. These may vary from region to region, some of them having modern versions adapted to the contemporary way of living.

Christmas Eve

The Serbian name for Christmas Eve during the daylight is Badnji dan, and after the sunset it is called Badnje veče.^{note 2} Since the Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian, Christmas Eve (December 24) coincides with January 6 on the Gregorian calendar. On this day members of a household make preparations for the oncoming celebration.

Badnjak

The head of household, accompanied by some of its male members, goes into a forest before the sunrise to find, fell, and bring home a young, strait Turkey oak tree, or oak tree of any sort in a lack of Turkey oaks. This felled tree is called badnjak, and is one of the central features of the celebration. When people set off from home to get a badnjak, they announce it by shooting their guns or small celebratory mortars called prangija; whole regions thus resound with these blasts.¹

A badnjak should be of such a size that allows it to be carried on a shoulder. The tree chosen to become a badnjak is cut slantwise with three blows of an axe. The first splinter is picked up and kept; it is believed to possess a beneficial power for the material well-being of household. If the tree is not cut down after the third blow, it must not be cut further, but pulled and twisted until it breaks off. This method is preferred over the cutting down, because the resulting badnjak has so-called beard, the place on the tree at which it broke off. It should fall to the east, without being stopped in its fall by surrounding trees. More than one badnjak may be felled for one household, and its branches may be lopped off or not, depending on the regional customs. Brought home, the badnjak will be leaned vertically against the house beside its entrance door.¹²

In the evening, the head of household, or another man of the family, brings the badnjak into the house. This man is called badnjačar. Stepping across the threshold with his right foot first, he greets the gathered family, “Happy Christmas Eve to you.” They greet him back, “May God give you well-being, and may you have good luck.” The woman of the house throws grain from a sieve onto both the badnjačar and the badnjak. The badnjačar approaches the house’s fireplace called ognjište, which has a fire-resistant floor but has no vertical surround, so the fire burning on it is similar to a campfire. He lays down the badnjak, putting its thicker side on the fire. He does it in such a way that a short length of the tree at its thicker end, where it has been cut, is left outside the fire. The badnjačar then moves it a little forward; this move is intended to summon prosperity for the household. If there is more than one badnjak, only the first is put on fire with the rituals.¹²

At the side of ognjište where the thicker end of badnjak is situated, the family puts a plowshare and a sieve containing grain, honey, cakes, wine, salt, prunes, walnuts, and apples. Members of the household kiss the badnjak; some of grain from the sieve is thrown on it, and honey is spread on its cut surface. The badnjačar takes a jug of wine, and toasts to the badnjak, “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.” Having drunk, he pours some wine on the badnjak as if giving it to drink.¹³ In Montenegrin Littoral, girls and women adorn it with laurel, olive, juniper, ivy, and rosemary twigs with leaves, which are tied to the badnjak with red silken or woolen threads.²⁴ It ought not to be jumped over or trodden upon. When a part of it burns up, the next part is pushed into the fire to keep it burning, but not the thicker end.¹

These ancient traditions have modern, reduced versions, since houses today usually have no ognjište to burn a badnjak on. It is symbolically represented by several oak twigs with leaves, some of which are burnt in a wood-burning kitchen stove, the others being placed beside the stove. For the convenience of people who live in towns and cities, these twigs can be bought at marketplaces, or received in churches.¹ It has become a tradition since the 1990s that parishioners burn a collective badnjak in the yard of their church after the Morning Liturgy on Christmas Eve. A parishioner may pick a twig from that badnjak, and adorn with it an appropriate place in his home.⁵

The laying of badnjak on the fire could have been regarded as a minimum for people to confirm their devotedness to Serbian tradition. In Petar II Petrović-Njegoš’s poem The Mountain Wreath, Voivode Batrić urges converts to Islam to return to Christianity and Serbdom: “[...] Lay the Serbian Christmas-log badnjak on the fire, paint the Easter eggs various colours, observe with care the Lent and Christmas fasts. As for the rest, do what your heart desires!”⁶

Christmas straw

During the daylight a man of the family takes a large armful of straw from a stack, and ties it with a rope. Right after the badnjak has been brought into the house, the same is done with this bundle of straw, with the same rituals. In some regions, it is carried three times around the house before it is taken in. Having put it down on the floor, the man who brought the bundle in imitates a hen clucking to call her chicks. Children of the family approach him imitating chicks and pick at the straw, which is then strewn all over the floor. Some people throw walnuts on this straw. The head of household goes after that into his barn, and pours wine and grain on his livestock.¹²

Dinner

Once the badnjak and straw have been taken into the house, the Christmas Eve dinner may begin. The head of household makes the Sign of the Cross, lights a candle, and incenses the whole house. In some regions it is a custom that he then goes out into the yard, calls by name pest animals (e.g. wolves, foxes, and hawks) and his personal enemies, inviting them, “Come to dinner now and again in a year, God willing.” This is intended to protect the household from them for a year.¹ Until the beginning of the 20th century in the Pirot District, south-eastern Serbia, the head of household would go out to his firewood shed to invite German (pronounced [ˈgerman]) – a male mythological being associated with bringing rain and hail. He would take with him a loaf of bread called good luck, prepared particularly for this ritual, rakia, wine, and a wax candle. At the shed, he would shout three times, “German, German, wherever you are, come to dinner right now, and in the summer do not let me see your eyes anywhere!” He would then light the candle, take a sip of rakia, taste some bread, drink wine, and go back into his house. Asked what happened with German, he would answer, “He came, so we dined and drank amply of rakia and wine, and then we parted.” This ritual was intended to prevent summer hailstorms.⁷

Before the table is served, it is strewn with a thin layer of straw and covered with a white cloth. The family members sit down at the table. Before tucking in, they all rise and a man or boy among them says a prayer, or they together sing the Troparion of the Nativity in Church Slavonic language:⁸

Christmas Eve being a fast day, the dinner is prepared in accordance with that, but it is copious and diverse in foods. Besides a round unleavened loaf of bread called badnjački kolač, and salt, which are necessary, this meal may comprise e.g. roast fish, cooked beans, sauerkraut, noodles with ground walnuts, honey, and wine.⁹ It used to be served in some villages on a sack filled with straw, with the family seated around it on the floor.¹ After the dinner, young people visit their friends, a group of whom may gather at the house of one of them. Christmas and other songs are sung, while the elderly narrate stories form the olden times. An old Christmas song from the Bay of Kotor has the following lyrics:⁴

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, some Christmas songs are sung during days close to Christmas Eve, others on that day, and still others on Christmas Day itself. The following song is one of those sung in the evening before Christmas Day:¹⁰

Once the household members have gone to bed, an elderly woman of the family sticks a knife into the house door from the inside. Alternatively, she puts a hawthorn stake by the door, hanging a wreath of garlic on it. This is done as a protection against curses, witches, and demons. For the same reason, children are rubbed with garlic on the palms, armpits, and soles before going to bed. In some regions, men keep watch in shifts by the ognjište during the night, to keep the fire burning.¹²

Christmas

Christmas Day is called by Serbs the first day of Christmas. The celebration is announced at dawn by church bells, and by shooting from guns and prangijas. The head of household and some of the family go to church to attend the Morning Liturgy. No one is to eat anything before tasting the prosphora, which the head of household will bring from church for those who stay at home to do domestic tasks for this morning. Men build a fire in the house yard, and roast a pig impaled on a long wooden spit, rotating it slowly by the fire. This roasted pig, called pečenica, is a necessary part of Christmas dinner.²¹¹

Strong water

A girl or woman goes early in the morning to a resource of water, as a well, spring, or stream. Putting by the resource an ear of maize and a bunch of basil which she brought from home, she collects water with a bucket, and takes it home to her family. This water collected on early Christmas morning is called strong water, believed to possess a special beneficial power. Each member of the family washes the face with it, and drinks it before breakfast; infants are bathed in it. On her way back home, the girl who carries strong water picks several cornel or willow twigs, with which children are gently struck that morning. This is intended to strengthen their health.^{note 3}¹¹

Polažajnik

A polažajnik, called also polaženik, polaznik, or radovan, is the first person who visits a family during Christmas. This visit may be fortuitous or pre-arranged. People expect that it will summon prosperity and well-being for their household in the ensuing year. A family often picks in advance a man or boy, and arranges that he visit them on Christmas morning. If this proves to be lucky for the family, he is invited again next year to be the polažajnik. If not, they send word to him not to come any more in that capacity.²¹¹

A polažajnik steps into the house with his right foot first, greeting the gathered family, “Christ is Born, Happy Christmas,” while throwing grain from his glove on them. “Truly He is Born,” the family members respond, as they throw grain on him. The polažajnik then approaches the ognjište, takes a poker, and strikes repeatedly the burning badnjak to make it spark, while saying these words (or similar):¹¹

Having said that, he moves the badnjak a little forward and throws a coin into the fire. The woman of the house puts a woolen blanket on the polažajnik’s back, and seats him on a low stool by the ognjište. In the moment when he sits down, they try to pull away the stool beneath him, as if to make him fall on the floor. The polažajnik then goes out into the yard, and throws grain inside a circle made with the rope with which Christmas straw has been tied, calling chickens. When they gather in the circle, he catches a rooster, and cuts his head off on the house’s threshold. This can be done by the head of household. The rooster will be roasted on a wooden spit as a part of Christmas dinner. A polažajnik usually stays for dinner at his hosts’ home. He is gifted a round cake with an embedded coin, and a towel, shirt, socks, or some other useful thing.¹¹

A modern version of this custom is adapted to houses without an ognjište. Several oak twigs, which symbolically represent a badnjak, are put on fire in a wood-burning kitchen stove. The polažajnik stirs them with a poker, saying the aforementioned words.¹

A custom to use a domestic animal as a polažajnik was kept in some regions until the first half of the 20th century. A sheep, ox, swine, or calf was led into the house on Christmas morning.¹¹ In the west Serbian region of Radjevina, centered in the town Krupanj, the head of houshold would place a sheep between himself and the ognjište, and pronounce the aforementioned words while striking the badnjak with a branch cut from it.¹⁴ In the region of Bihor, north-eastern Montenegro, a round loaf of bread with a hole in its center was prepared; four grooves were impressed into its surface along two mutually perpendicular diameters of the loaf. After an ox was led into the house, the loaf was put on his horn, and some grain was thrown on him. Yanking his head, the ox would throw off the loaf; having fallen down, it would break into four pieces along the grooves. The pieces were picked up and distributed among the family members. This custom was preserved up to the 1950s even in some Muslim families of the region.¹⁵ Ethnologists consider that the animal polažajnik is more ancient than the human one.¹⁶

Christmas loaves

An essential feature of Christmas dinner is a česnica, which is a round loaf of bread. Dough for a česnica is made with strong water. While it is kneaded, a golden or silver coin is put into it. Some people put also little objects made of cornel wood, representing chickens, oxen, cows, swine, bees, etc.²¹¹

In addition to a česnica, other kinds of Christmas loaves may be regionally baked, each with its specific name and purpose within the celebration. A božićni kolač, meaning Christmas cake, is despite its name a round loaf of bread. Before baking, a Christogram is impressed on its upper side with a wooden seal. For each male member of the family a round loaf named ratarica is made – the biggest one for the head, and the smallest one for the youngest boy. As for the female members, for each of them a pletenica is prepared, a loaf shaped like a three-strand braid – the biggest one for the woman of the house, and the smallest one for the youngest girl.¹¹ A set of little loaves is baked with a different symbol inscribed on the upper side of each of them, representing: a vineyard, barrel, hoof, ox, cow with a calf, sow with a piglet, ewe with a lamb, mare with a foal, hen with chicks, plow, hand of a sower, goose, or pigeon.¹⁷

Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner is the most celebratory dinner a family has during a year. In the early afternoon the family members sit down at the table. When the head of household gives a sign, all rise. He lights a candle, incenses his family and house, and prays the Lord's Prayer. After that, they all kiss each other on the cheek saying, “The peace of God among us, Christ is Born.” They together hold the česnica and rotate it three times counterclockwise, singing the Troparion of the Nativity.⁸ They then break the česnica among themselves, a piece of which is set aside for absent family members, another piece for a stranger who might become their guest, and the rest is used during the dinner. It is said that the one who finds the coin hidden in the česnica will have an exceptionally good luck in the ensuing year. In some regions, a half of this festive loaf is set aside and eaten on New Year's Day as per Julian calendar, i. e. January 14 on the Gregorian calendar. The main course of Christmas dinner is roast pork of the pečenica, the head and the right Boston butt of which are cut off and saved for New Year's Day. During the dinner, the head of household proposes a toast to his family with a glass of wine several times.²¹¹ The verbalization of these toasts is usually traditional, for example this one from Herzegovina and Montenegro:¹⁸

After Christmas dinner, the remaining food should not be removed from the table – only the used tableware is taken away. The food is covered with a white cloth, and eaten in the evening as supper.¹¹

Koleda

The koleda is a custom that a group of young men, masked, costumed, and armed with wooden swords, goes from house to house of their village congratulating Christmas to villagers. The members of a koleda group are called koledari. They fence with each other using their wooden swords, making thus a performance in front of every house. One among them may be dressed like a bride, so the whole group imitates a wedding party.¹⁹ They sing special, koleda songs, in which the word koledo, the vocative case of koleda, is inserted in the middle and at the end of each verse. The lyrics of one of these songs, recorded in the 19th century by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, are as follows:²⁰

Koleda songs can be mystical and imbued with magic.²¹ In some of them the badnjak and Christmas are refered to as personages, with an opposition made between the former, described as old, and the latter, described as young:²⁰

Vertep

A group of boys dressed in variegated costumes goes from house to house of their village carrying a vertep – a litter that represents the manger in which newborn Jesus Christ was placed. In front of every house they sing Christmas songs, and recite poems that praise the birth of Christ. This custom is called vertep, and the participants in it – vertepaši. The name vertep comes from Church Slavonic вєртє́пъ ([ʋerˈtep]), meaning cave, referring to the cave where the manger was sited. Similarly to koledari, vertepaši are armed with wooden swords and fence with each other in front of houses.¹⁹

Second and third day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas, families visit each other at their homes. On the third day, Christmas straw is taken out of houses. Little bundles are made with it, and hung on fruit trees to make them fruit better. A bigger bundle of it is stored in a dry place, and burned on St. George's Day, as a protection of fields against hail. Another bundle is taken away across the nearest stream – a symbolic elimination of all the vermin that may be present in the house. Men make crosses from the remnant of the thicker side of badnjak, and stick them under eaves, on fields, meadows, vineyards, and apiaries. It is believed this will help that the ensuing year be happy and fruitful. A good sign that this will be the case is when there is a lot of snow on Christmas Day.¹¹

The third day of Christmas coincides with St. Stephen's Day, which is the slava of many Serbian families. It is also the slava of Republika Srpska. In this way, many Serbs celebrate two important holidays, Christmas and slava, within three days.¹¹

Twelve Days of Christmas

During the Twelve Days of Christmas (January 7 – January 18 on the Gregorian calendar), one is to greet another person with “Christ is Born!”, which should be responded to with “Truly He is Born”.^{note 1} January 14 coincides with New Year's Day according to the Julian calendar. A traditional folk name for this holiday is Mali Božić – Little Christmas. The head and the right Boston butt of pečenica, reserved at Christmas dinner, are served for dinner on this day. A part of this meal consists of round cakes made with cornmeal and cream. They are named vasilica after Saint Basil the Great, because January 1 is also the feast day of this saint. People versed in scapulimancy used the shoulder blade of the Boston butt to foretell events concerning the family in the ensuing year.²² The snout cut from the head of pečenica could have been used in love magic. If a girl looked stealthily through the snout at a boy she loved, but who did not care for her, he would supposedly go mad about her.²³

The following custom was recorded at the end of the 19th century in the north Dalmatian region of Bukovica. Early in the morning of Little Christmas, children of a family would spread Christmas straw from their house around the stake in the center of their village’s threshing floor. The use of this stake was to tether a horse to it; the animal was then driven around to thresh grain by treading with its hooves. The woman of the house would bake a big round unleavened loaf of bread with a hole in its center, inscribed with circles, crosses, hooks, and other symbols on its surface. The loaf would be taken to the threshing floor, and fixed round the stake. The oldest man of the family would hold the stake with his right hand above the loaf. As for his left hand, the next oldest man would hold it with his right hand, and so on to the youngest boy who could walk steadily. Holding hands in this manner, they would run around the stake three times. During the running they would shout in unison as loud as possible, “Ajd ajde, koba moja!”, “Giddy-up, my mare!” – except for the man holding the stake, who would shout, “De! De! De!”, “Go! Go! Go!” They would after that take the hollow loaf back home, and put it near the ognjište beside the remnant of badnjak. The woman of the house would “feed them fodder”, i.e. prepare a meal for them, consisting of djevenica (a sort of sujuk), roast pork, and the hollow loaf. Having eaten, they would go back to the threshing floor and repeat the whole ritual, only this time without the loaf. In the end, they would collect Christmas straw from the threshing floor; it was put in hens’ nests to prevent them from laying eggs outside the nests. This custom was considered as especially joyful for children.²⁴

The last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, January 18 (January 5 on the Julian calendar), is the eve of the Epiphany. Its folk name is Krstovdan^{note 4} – the Day of the Cross. This is a strict fast day; the adults should eat almost nothing. It was believed that the north, south, east, and west winds crossed each other on Krstovdan. The wind that overpowered the other three, would be dominant in the ensuing year.²²

This twelve-day period used to be called the unbaptized days, during which demonic forces of all kinds were considered to be more than usually active and dangerous. People were cautious not to attract their attention, and did not go out late at night. The latter precaution especially applied to the demons called karakondžula, imagined as heavy, squat, and ugly creatures. When a karakondžula found someone outdoors during the night of an unbaptized day, it would jump on his back, and make him carry it wherever it wanted. This torture would end only when roosters announced the dawn; at that moment the creature would release its victim and run away.²²

Gifts

It is not a part of Serbian traditions to exchange gifts during Christmas. Gift giving is, nevertheless, connected with this holiday, and it is traditionally done on the three consecutive Sundays that immediately precede Christmas Day. These three feast days are called, respectively, Detinjci or Djetinjci, Materice, and Oci. Gift givers are set for each of them: children on Detinjci, married women on Materice, and married men on Oci. The best presents are exchanged between parents and their children.²⁵

The gifts are given in the form of a ransom. In the morning of Detinjci, adults use a belt, rope, or scarf to tie their and neighbors’ children. A child is tied by its legs – to one another if it stands, or to a chair if it sits. Children have already prepared presents for this event, with which they “pay the ransom” to their parents or neighbors who have tied them, and get untied. In the morning of Materice, a child or siblings suddenly tie their mother in the same manner as they have been tied on Detinjci. The mother, as if surprised, asks why she has been tied. The children then wish a happy Feast of Materice to her, and she pays the “ransom” with prepared presents, after which they untie her. They may do the same with married women from their neighborhood, receiving from them usually some smaller gifts, as candies and fruits. Mothers prepare a family feast for dinner on this day. In the morning of Oci, the Sunday immediately before Christmas Day, a child or siblings together tie their father and married men from their neighborhood, who too must pay the “ransom” to get untied. Women as well may be the tying ones on Oci. Instead of actually tying a child, woman, or man, it is often sufficient just to show them a rope to receive a present from them. Out of these three holidays, Materice is the most festive. It is sometimes celebrated even among those who do not celebrate Detinjci and Oci.²⁵

List of terms

Notes

^ ^a ^b These greetings in Serbian: “Христос се роди!” ([ˈxris.tos.se ˈro.di]) – “Ваистину се роди” ([ˈʋa.is.ti.nu.se ˈro.di]).
^ For the pronunciation of Serbian terms, see the section "List of terms".
^ There is a Serbian saying for a healthy person: zdrav kao dren, “as healthy as cornel”.
^ This Krstovdan should not be confused with the Feast of Exaltation of the Cross, whose folk name in Serbian is also Krstovdan.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Vuković, Milan T. (2004). Народни обичаји, веровања и пословице код Срба. Belgrade: Sazvežđa, pp. 81-85. ISBN 86-83699-08-0. (Serbian)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović (2005). Живот и обичаји народа српскога. Belgrade: Politika: Narodna knjiga, pp. 323-326. ISBN 86-331-1946-3. (Serbian)
^ Janićijević, Jovan (1995). U znaku Moloha: antropološki ogled o žrtvovanju. Belgrade: Idea, p. 189. ISBN 86-7547-037-1. (Serbian)
^ ^a ^b Vukmanović, Jovan (1962). "Božićni običaji u Boki Kotorskoj". Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slovena (Zagreb: The Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts) (40): p. 491, http://www.rastko.org.yu/rastko-bo/ljudi/jvukmanovic-bozic.html. (Serbian)
^ Ivanović-Barišić, Milina (2006). "Традиционална религиозност и ревитализација православља деведесетих година 20. века". Свакодневна култура у постсоцијалистичком периоду у Србији и Бугарској: p. 128, Belgrade: The Ethnographic Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. ISBN 86-7587-036-1. (Serbian)
^ Petrović-Njegoš, Petar II (February, 2000). "The Mountain Wreath, transl. by Vasa D. Mihailovich" verses 859-862. Project Rastko. Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
^ Janićijević, p. 186
^ ^a ^b "Божићни празници и обичаји" (in Serbian). spcportal.org. Retrieved on 2008-10-16.
^ "Трпеза за Бадње вече" (in Serbian). Кувар. Krstarica (January 4, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-03.
^ Petranović, Bogoljub (1989). "Божићне пјесме", Српске народне пјесме из Босне и Херцеговине 1 (in Serbian). Sarajevo: Svjetlost, pp. 36-37.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Vuković, pp. 87-93
^ Filipović, Milenko S. (1970). "Srpska naselja u Beloj Krajini" (in Serbian). Radovi (Sarajevo: The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Department of Social Sciences) (35): p. 224.
^ Pavlović, Mirjana (2006). "Божићни обичаји Срба у Темишвару" (in Serbian). Гласник Етнографског института САНУ (Belgrade: The Ethnographic Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts) 54 (1): p. 340. ISSN 0350-0861, http://www.etno-institut.co.yu/GEI/GEI_LIV/mira.pdf.
^ ^a ^b Đurđev, Aleksandar (1988). "Годишњи обичаји", Рађевина: обичаји, веровања и народно стваралаштво (in Serbian). Krupanj: Aleksandar Đurđev, pp. 79-90.
^ Zirojević, Olga (2003). "Slava i praznici", Islamizacija na južnoslovenskom prostoru (in Serbian). Srpski genealoški centar. ISBN 86-83679-12-8.
^ Janićijević, p. 211
^ Janićijević, p. 221
^ Vuković, p. 252
^ ^a ^b Vuković, pp. 145-146
^ ^a ^b Karadžić, Vuk Stefanović (1841). "Пјесме од коледе", Српске народне пјесме 1 (in Serbian). Vienna: Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, pp. 120-121.
^ Petrović, Rastko (May 13, 2003). "Младићство народног генија" (in Serbian). Растко Петровић - електронска библиотека. Project Rastko. Retrieved on 2008-10-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c Vuković, pp. 94-95
^ Vuković, p. 222
^ Ardalić, Vladimir (March 1999). "Годишњи обичаји" (in Serbian). Буковица, Народни живот и обичаји. Project Rastko. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
^ ^a ^b Vuković, p. 78

Contents