The Speakup Times

FACTS ABOUT SERBIA

Speakup — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:01:47 GMT

- Beginning of the 7th century - Serbian and other Slavonic tribes settle in the Balkans

- 8th -9th century - first Serbian dukes

- Between 867 - 874 - Serbs become Christians

- 1096 - 1097 - Crusaders first pass across Serbia

- 1147 - 1149 - Crusaders pass across Serbia for the second time

- Grand duke of Rashka (the area in the south of Serbia, founded as the episcopacy in 9th-10 th century), Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjic dynasty and the Serbian state

- Around 1170 - Nemanja defeats Byzantines at Pantin near Zvecan (on Kosovo); to glorify his victory, he founded a church dedicated to Saint George near Novi Pazar, within the complex called Djurdjevi stupovi (George's Columns); He was also a founder of the monastery of Studenica meant for a mausoleum.

- Around 1175 - Rastko Nemanjic - Saint Sava was born (since he's one of the most important persons in Serbian history )

- 1183 - Thank to Nemanja, Serbia becomes an independent country;

- Around 1191 - Rastko Nemanjic leaves for the Holy Mountain (Mountain Athos).

- 1196 - Stefan Nemanja renounces the throne and, as a monk Simeon lives in Studenica and from 1197 in the Holy Mountain (Mountain Athos)

- 1196 - 1228 - Stefan Nemanjic, Serbian grand duke and from 1217 a king; 1199 - Stefan Nemanja, the monk Simeon, dies in Hilandar

- The end of the 12th century - the beginning of constituting Serbian aristocracy

The first half of the 13th century - Serbian rulers mint copper and silver coins

- 1217 - Stefan Nemanjic crowned in the church as the first Serbian king later known as Nemanja The First Crowned; he created the picture on our national flag; the crown is his.

- Sava Nemanjic leaves for the Holy Mountain

- 1219- Serbian orthodox church becomes autocephalous

- 1243 - 1276 - The King Uros I - economic and cultural empowering of Serbia

- The end of 13th century - Pec (on Kosovo) becomes the residence of the Serbian archbishopric

- Around 1300 - 1380 - The Old Man Isaia, a monk and a diplomat, obtained the recognition of Pec Patriarchy

- 1331 -1355 - Stefan Dushan Nemanjic - Serbian King and the first Tsar (from 1345); published Dushan's Code; 1355 - The Tsar Dushan dies under unknown circumstances

- 1371 - Turks come in the Balkans; the battle on the Marica river

- 1375 - The recognition of Serbian Patriarchy in Pec by the Tsarigrad's (now Istanbul) Patriarchy

- 1389 - Kosovo battle; the battle at Kosovo field where Serbian army under the duke Lazar fought with the Turkish army led by the sultan Murat I; first, Serbian army was successful and Lazar's feudal lord, Milosh, killed Murat and made a real mess among the Turks; but then Murat's son took command, the more powerful Turkish army won, Lazar was captured and executed. His widow, Milica, on behalf of his son Stefan, had to accept to pay annual taxes and some military help to Turks.

- 1838 - The Lycee founded in Kragujevac; in 1905 it became the Belgrade University.

- 1844 - "Serbian Civil Code" was passed; National Museum in Belgrade was founded.

- 1846 - The Supreme Court was founded.

- 1868 - The National Theatre in Belgrade was founded.

- 1882 - The Kingdom of Serbia was announced; the king was Milan Obrenovic.

- 1888 - The constitution of the Kingdom of Serbia was passed where parliamentary democracy was brought in.

- 1889 - 1903 - The King Aleksandar Obrenovic; in April 1901 he changed the Constitution with a new one, which he didn't respect; he was an autocratic ruler and he was also married with a court lady, Draga Masin which caused a rebellion of the officers and he was killed.

- 1901 - The April Constitution was changed: beside the parliament, the Senate was added, and the two were equal in legislation.

- 1903- 1921 - Petar I Karadjordjevic, the king of Serbia (1903-1918) and the Kingdom od Serbs, Croats and Slovenians (1918-1921)

- 1918 (1st December) - the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians was declared

- 1921 - on 28th June the first constitution of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians was passed.

1921 - 1934 - Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic - the king of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians (1921- 1929) that is of Yugoslavia (from 1929). Known as the King of Uniting.

- 1934 - King Aleksandar killed in Marseilles.

- 1934-1941 - Yugoslavia was ruled by regents led by Duke Pavle Karadjordjevic, because Petar II Karadjordjevic was underage.

The Karadjordjevic dynasty escaped to London when World War II began. In 2000, they came back to Serbia.

- 1941 - 1945 - World War II

1999 - Bombardment of Serbia.

Watch the video

Speakup — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:25:53 GMT

Follow the link and see some of our national dances:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqqCmK06PIg

Children's holidays

Speakup — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:07:44 GMT

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.

Serbian Slava

Speakup — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:01:45 GMT

Serbian SLAVA

According to the words of the apostle Paul, a Christian family is a little church. And as every Christian being a Christian temple dedicated to one saint that he celebrates as his patron, so Serbian families put themselves under the wing of one patron that they address to, and whom, as the patron of the family they respect and regularly, from generation to generation, from a father to a son, they celebrate every year.

Slava is a unique characteristic of Serbian people, since it's celebrated only among Serbs.

For their patrons, our ancestors were taking the Holy Mother or a Christian saint on whose day they became Christians.

How our ancestors used to celebrate SLAVA

Slava became, among our ancestors, one of the main ways to express their Orthodox Christianity. They respected their saints and celebrated their names in any conditions.

The host was preparing Slava during the whole year. And the night before, he would invite his friends.

The homes of the ones who celebrated became the homes of prayer, the churches. Their homes were open for the ones who would just drop in. The poor and the troubled ones were helped according to the possibilities of the host. It was celebrated the way it could be, but it was always celebrated. The soldiers in trenches as well as captured ones in the enemy camps, they all celebrated SLAVA.

For SLAVA it's necessary to bless water in your home and make the Slava cake , the Slava candle, the Slava wheat, some red wine, incense and the icon lamp.

Some time before the day of Slava, the priest comes and blesses the water.

On the very day of Slava, the priest blesses the Slava wheat and the Slava cake, cutting the latter one cross-shaped and pours the wine over it. That can happen either in the church or in the host's home.

Everything around the Slava ritual has its meaning.

The Slava Cake presents our gratitude to the God for our salvation through Jesus Christ , the cross-shaped of the cake presents the Christ's crucifixion for us. Pouring the wine over the cake means that we were purified from our sins by Christ's blood.

The Slava Candle should be made of the pure bee wax.

The Slava candle expresses that the host and his family are the sons of Light and not of darkness. It also expresses the joy of the host.

The Slava wheat - is made as a sign of gratitude to the God for all the earth fruits, and in the memory of the saint we celebrate, as well as the memory of the ones who lived in faith and died for faith.

The Slava rituals are for the living ones - for their health, prosperity and wealth. The host then remembers, in his prayers, his ancestors who also celebrated the same saint.

Sugar that is mixed with the wheat presents gentle life of righteous Christians after death.

The oil in the icon lamp presents a sacrifice to the God.

The incense is a symbol f our prayer that should come from the pure heart, in order to make it nice and enjoyable for the God, as we enjoy the smell of the incense.

The Blessing of water

A few days before Slava, the priest blesses the water.

For the blessing of water, the host should prepare: the candle, a bowl of water, a bunch of basil, a little incense, the icon lamp and the list of all the family members so that the priest could mention them in his prayer for health. The table should be placed in front of the Slava icon, or close to it, but always so that the priest, during the prayer, faces the icon.

The icon should be on the most beautiful place in the room, on the east side.

In front of the icon, the icon lamp should be lit.

After blessing the water with his cross, the priest blesses the people and the home with the cross. All the present persons cross themselves, kiss the holy cross and the priest sprinkles each and every of them with the blessed water.

ON THE DAY OF SLAVA there are two things that can be done. Either you can take the Slava cake to the church to be blessed or the priest can come to you to bless the cake. If you take it to the church you must also take the wheat and the red wine and buy the candle in the church. If the priest comes home, the table with the Slava candle should be placed in front of the icon. On the table, a little bit ahead, is the Slava candle, the Slava cake is on the left and the Slava wheat is on the right; in the middle, there's a glass with some red wine; by the cake, there's a knife, incense, the icon lamp and the list with the names of the family members.

The priest blesses the cake, the wheat and the wine. Then he takes the cake, cuts its bottom cross-shaped and then all the family members spin the cake, with the priest singing three solemn songs.

Then they break the cake in halves and, each holding his part, they put it together. Kissing the cake, the priest says:"Christ among us" and the family answer:" He is and he will be" This is done three times.

Usually, a solemn Slava lunch is prepared for relatives, friends and neighbours.

Fat or a lunch without fat

In the Orthodox Church Calendar there are some days when it's forbidden to eat fat food. So, if Slava is on one of these days you eat food without fat. Since Slava is a religious holiday, this should be respected.

TRADITIONS

Speakup — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:41:51 GMT

Christmas

6th January, the Yule Log Day (Christmas Eve)

The sun in Belgrade rises at 7.15 a.m. and sets at 6.13 p.m. Among all the holidays during the year, as well as so beautiful and diverse habits that follow them, the Yule Log Day is separated by the kind of celebration, picturesque events and the meanings it has. The Yule Log Day seems like an ancient holiday, an escape from pestilence, as a real celebration of the fight for life. In the icy surrounding, chained by winter and ice, with the dead and faded nature, in the days that got so short that it seemed the boundless night darkness would prevail, with the sun light becoming farther and farther and it's distinguished and not reaching warmth, an impression of the end of the world and inevitable death was imposed on the man of ancient times. The prevalence of the powers of darkness and the underground world in these days is obvious, so it seems the last days have come. And, as the real optimism begins with despair and in a hopeless situation, a stimulus of hope sparkles, so a revolutionary fight appears, in the winter solstice, with the help of a human acting. By cutting off a Yule log, which has the roots in the underground, to a man not inclined world, by its sacrificing, burning on the heath, the purifying power and the life giving effects are strengthened, as a sort of help to the sun, with the wish to be as many lives as there are sparkles from the log. The Yule log, actually, presents a fight against destruction, which is pictured in Serbian customs and rituals around it. Burning off the Yule log presents the ritual of burning up the deity of fertility, which is at the same time embodied in the new deity as Christmas. Because of that it was believed that the remains and ashes of the Yule log, as of the burned deity, keep miraculous power. It is particularly important that for this holiday all family members must be together, which makes family stronger, as an integral, educational and social function of a family. The Yule Log Day (Christmas Eve) is always on 6^th January. Its celebration starts with cutting off a Yule log, which is, by the rule, cut off in dawn of the very holiday, before the sunrise. Usually, oak or cerise branches are cut for the Yule log. It's not hard to recognize the remains of the old Slavic worship of trees in the way they treat the Yule log when they cut it: When they approach the tree they're going to cut the Yule log from, they always say: "Good morning Yule log and an honest Christmas to you." Then it is strewed by the wheat brought from home in a glove and somewhere a special cake was brought to the Yule log. Obviously, the Yule log is a personification of a live and divine creature. The Yule log is cut from the east side and people would always take care that the cut part fell on the east side, which is achieved by making the last axle hit from the west side. If you have in mind the significance and the symbolism of the sides of the world in the life of our nation, than it's clear that the Yule log symbolizes the deity of sun and the life giving fire. A very important role in the Yule Log Day custom has the hay taken into the house. After going around the house with the hay, followed by the children from the house that would cheep as chicks after him expressing that way the desire to be as many chicks as possible in the yard, the one which brings the hay spreads it on the floor. Since all the chairs are taken out of the house on the Yule Log Day, everybody will sit on a rug put over the hay, without their shoes on. When a part of the meal, dedicated to the ancestor is taken out from the meal, and when the nuts are thrown into the corners, The Yule log dinner which is, understandably, without any fat, can begin. During the Yule log night, roast-suckling pig is prepared, dedicated to the next day- Christmas. During the night, everybody watches when the Yule log will start burning. The one who notices that gets a prize from the host, and the very moment of beginning of burning is announced by shooting from a weapon by the host. During the night, Father Christmas comes through chimneys with a bag full of presents for children.

7^th January, Christmas Day

In spite of being strictly holiday days, the days of Christmas were considered to be very good for beginning new work, because it was believed they would be successful. Everybody in his/her work - workers in fields, craftsmen and women - attempted in their own way to begin or indicate their work in a symbolic way, in order to make them successful. In the morning on Christmas day, from a spring, which was sprinkled with corn and decorated with sweet basil, so called not begun water was taken and used for chesnitsa (a sort of bread). A coin and other signs of different activities are put into it, and after everybody breaks a piece of bread, according to the thing he gets, his luck or success are judged. Some people also put a little branch of sweet basil in it, and the one who gets it into his/her piece of bread is believed to be healthy that year. Whereas on Christmas Eve you don't give anything to anybody or don't take anything out of the house, nor you visit anybody - for this is a solemn day for every family and they should be together - on Christmas day the most important person is the first visitor of the home. This visitor, called polozainik, is welcomed, according to the belief, as the God's messenger and is treated extremely carefully for it's believed the luck and prosperity of the home depend on him. It's usually the youngest male child in the family or neighbourhood. The polozainik himself wishes merry Christmas, by stirring the fire with an oak branch wishing as much success and fertility as there are sparkles. The polozainik is given a lot of gifts, as the one who brings happiness deserves.

8^th January

In church, the second day of Christmas is dedicated to the God's mother, as a sign of thanking her for giving birth to the God and Saviour, and beside that about twenty saints and miraculous events are celebrated on that day. On that day, the young would gather on the town squares and dance. One of the most beautiful Christmas customs is the way people greet each other. With the intention to keep peace, prevent hatred and stop fighting among people, we greet each other with the words: God's peace, Christ was born and reply: Really was born kissing each other and shaking hands. And of course,