Children's holidays

DETINCI, MATERICE AND OCEVI

These three children's holidays are celebrated a month before Christmas. All of them are celebrated on Sundays.

Detinci is a holiday when children should give a small gift to their parents to make them happy.

A week after Detinci comes a big children's holiday Materice. Mother will earlier provide some gifts for her children. Children, with a piece of rope, loosely tie their mother's feet. She will "untie herself" by giving them the gifts and some sweets. The sweets are the main characteristic of the holiday: usually there are some figs, chestnuts, candies and a red apple with a coin stuck into the apple. Nowadays, mothers add some crisps, chocolate bars and other fruits. The children also visit their older relatives, doing the same things with their aunts and grandmothers.

On the third Sunday, before Christmas, children celebrate Ocevi or Oci. It's the day when fathers, uncles and grandfathers are supposed to "untie themselves" in the same way as the female side of the family on Materice.

CHILDREN'S CARNIVAL

On  the 6th May ( St. George's Day) 1818 Kragujevac was proclaimed the capital of modern Serbian state. That's why the 6th May is celebrated as the Day of Kragujevac. On that day, a big Children's carnival is organized, in which many children take part:  kindergartens, nursery, primary and secondary schools, dance clubs, folklore dancers, sport clubs... The procession goes from the Square at Cross through the central city streets and comes back to the square, where there's a program for the youngest ones. There are always a lot of people along the streets who enjoy watching the colourful masks. On this 6th May 2008, we had guests from three towns: Lozovik (central Serbia), Nish (south of Serbia) and Doboj (Repulika Srpska). Here you can see some pictures from the carnival.