The holiday euphoria started right after New Year's, as the most joyful holiday was getting closer. ✨️ The food, as always, was quite diverse, although we tried not to prepare too much, because that's not really the point.
On Christmas Eve, we first made a toast with some stronger drinks: homemade rakija, cherry brandy and pistachio liqueur and then we had a dinner with dishes prepared according to Orthodox fasting rules, such as baked beans, fasting bread, smoked and regular carp and pickled cucumbers, vegetable soup...
All day long, there were bowls on the table filled with dried fruit, apricots, plums, semi-dried dates and pomegranate, decorated with a small branch of Badnjak. Also, in the morning, on our way back from the church, we bought wheat, and later we went searching for cornelian cherries in our forest several times, freezing while trying to find them. Every tree was so covered in snow and and icy droplets that they all looked the same. Our third expedition was successful! 🤗 That twig is for health, so that on Christmas Day each of us can eat one bud to be "healthy as a cornelian cherry"! Have you ever heard about that?
On Christmas Day we woke up a bit earlier than usual. By here's tradition, people get up before sunrise, which I find really beautiful, but this time we overslept a little. (:
We started the day by greeting each other with "Christ is born!" “Truly He is born!" and "Merry Christmas" and then we made a toast with a glass of wine. We broke the česnica, a special festive bread that hides a coin for luck, a cornelian cherry bud for health, a bean a corn kernel and so on... It all depends on local tradition. Serbia may be a small country, but when it comes to tradition, it is incredibly rich and varies a lot from region to region, sometimes even from village to village.
Yes, I almost forgot to say, before the feast began, of course we lit a candle, censed the icons and the house, and said a prayer, the Lord's Prayer.
That day, along with the česnica and wine, there was also pečenica - roasted pork, purple cabbage salad, a cherry cake made with pastry thin sheets and semolina, and I was in charge of the Russian salad and a savory poppy seed roll, which you can see up close in the next photos. Oh yes, and sarma too. I didn't photograph it, because we brought it to the table a bit later, as it was still on the stove being reheated and served warm.
It’s interesting how all the colors on the table came together so nicely. Purple, burgundy, red, the color of wine, purple cabbage... even the green napkins did not stand out at all.
The next day, on the second day of Christmas, January 8th, I made soft little rolls stuffed with cheese and coated in sesame seeds, just when we needed something warm, fresh and doughy. In the evening, friends we play rummy with stopped by for coffee and freshly baked rolls. We sat, talked, ate and made plans about when we would play cards again.
By the way, this year we played only one game and introduced a new rule. For each game, we will all chip in 100 dinars each, which is less than 1 euro per player, and with the money we collect from playing throughout the year, we will treat the four of us to a nice dinner at the end of 2026. This is the fourth year that we have been actively playing rummy with them. 🤗
Of course, as long as there are leftovers, and we are always preparing like we are feeding an entire army, we keep eating that food and don't cook anything else. That's how it is, after every holiday, slava, celebration and festivity. Welcome to Serbia. xD
And how are holidays celebrated there where you live? Do you also try to keep things modest, with a reasonable amount of food, but somehow end up making ten times more than planned? (:
I'd like to know do you have a dish that is simply a must on your holiday table? And which holiday dish is your favorite and which holiday do you love the most? ✨️