alex (Cyrillic: Слава) is the Orthodox Christian custom of celebrating a family patron saint. The custom is mostly associated with Serbs, who consider it one of specific traits of their culture, although it is also encountered in the Republic of Macedonia^[1], parts of Bulgaria^[2], as well as among some Croats, Orthodox Albanians, Romanians, Greeks and Russians, although it has generally been lost in the last century. The word slava could be translated as "glory" or "praise". The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is an alphabet used for several East and South Slavic languages; (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ...

History

It is believed that the Serbs adopted the tradition at the time of their Christianization, some time in the late 9th century. Some believe that the day of the mass baptism itself was taken as the saint protector, others claim that each clan adopted its collective protector, while others still that slava is simply the saint which replaced a pre-existing pagan god-protector (see below). At times, a new slava would be adopted, should a saint be believed to have interceded for some sort of deliverance (i.e., from illness or affliction). The new saint would be adopted in lieu of the old, whose day would still be marked by a lighting of a candle, with much less fanfare. St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ...

Some also know Slava as Svyatoslav Prot*** he can be reached at 4168**6****. Many also believe the slava to be a remnant from Slavic paganism which had a myriad of Gods before adopting Christianity. The Serbs held strongly onto their old Slavic religion; the last pagan temple in Serbia (the one in Svetovid) was destroyed by Tsar Dusan in the 14th century. That the slava often varies according to geographical regions is claimed as evidence of the above. But even this notion need not contradict the traditional explanation that the slava is celebrated on the day of christening of the first-baptized ancestor, and in fact, it may very well underscore it. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning a country dweller or civilian) is a term which, from a western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Slavic mythology and Slavic religion evolved over more than 3,000 years. ... Image:SwiatowidZbrucz. ... Tsar Stefan Uroš IV Dušan Silni (the mighty) (Цар Стефан Душан Силни) (around 1308-December 20, 1355) was a Serb king (September 8, 1331-1346) and tsar (1346-December 5, 1355). ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ...

Heritage

Unlike most customs that are common for an entire people, each family separately celebrates its own saint. (Of course, there is quite a bit of overlap.) It is inherited from the head of the household—normally the father—to sons. Daughters inherit the slava only if they stay in the home; married women normally celebrate the husbands' saint. In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are usually depicted as having halos. ...

Each household has one or two celebrations per year (depending on the saint in question, for some have two days devoted to them). Yet, only one is the main day of the patron saint feast (and not necessarily the same of the two days for all families); the second celebration is referred to as "little slava" or preslava.

Some families may also celebrate yet another saint to a lesser extent (for example, when the wife is the only descendant of her kinship so the tradition of her slava would otherwise be lost).

Should a particular household move far away, with the father's permission, a son might celebrate the slava in his own home; usually, however, for as long as a family patriarch is alive, his sons should celebrate under his roof.^{[verification needed]}

Celebration

Koljivo

The occasion brings all of the family together, and a feast is normally prepared, including are the traditional foods: slavski kolač and koljivo. Literally, "slavski kolač"; means "the slava cake" (although it is actually a bread). The top of the kolač is adored with the sign of the Cross, the "Dove of Peace", and other symbols that relate to the family. Koljivo (also called žito) is made of boiled wheat. It can be prepared in a variety of ways but most usually includes walnuts, nutmegs and/or cloves, and honey. The wheat is a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ and dead family members. Depending on whether the celebration falls in a period of fasting, the rest of the feast consists of animal-free (posni) meals or not (mrsni); thus, colloquially, slavas can be referred to as mrsne or posne. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1400x1242, 373 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Slava Koliva Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1400x1242, 373 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Slava Koliva Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Koljivo (also called žito, which means wheat in Serbian; in Romanian: colivă) is a traditional meal made by cooking whole (or sometimes ground) wheat seeds, with some sugar and ground nuts added. ... This article is about the walnut tree. ... Species About 100 species, including: Myristica argentea Myristica fragrans Myristica malabarica The nutmegs Myristica are a genus of evergreen trees indigenous to tropical southeast Asia and Australasia. ... Binomial name Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill & Perry A single dried clove flower bud Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. ... A jar of honey, shown with a wooden honey server and scones. ... According to the New Testament, especially the Gospels, God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian organization in the world (or third if one sees Protestantism as a single entity). ...

On the day of the slava, the family attends church services and partakes in Holy Communion. Following the service, the parish priest is received in the family's home. He performs a small service which entails venerating the Saint's memory, blessing the slavski kolač and koljivo, as well as lighting the slava candle. Though not necessary, it is common for the priest to bless the house and perform a small memorial service for dead relatives.

During a slava a Serbian home is open to any and all who might wish to drop by. It is considered untraditional (but nevertheless often takes place in the modern society) to invite anyone to a slava; guests should come of their own will and no one is to be turned back from the home, as this would be considered a sacrilege and a disgrace to the household.

The most common feast days are St. Nicholas, December 19th (Свети Никола, Никољдан), St. George, May 6 (Свети Георгије, Ђурђевдан), St. John the Baptist, January 20th (Свети Јован Крститељ, Јовањдан), Saint Demetrius, November 8th (Свети Димитрије Солунски, Митровдан) and St. Michael, November 21st (Apaнђел Mиhajлo). The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with a saint, and referring to the day as the saints day of that saint. ... Saint Nicholas, also known as Nikolaus in Germany and Sinterklaas (a contracted form of Sint Nicolaas) in the Netherlands and Flanders, is the common name for the historical Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in 4th century Byzantine Anatolia, (now in modern Turkey) and had a reputation for secret gift... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For alternate uses, see Saint George (disambiguation) Saint George on horseback rides alongside a wounded dragon being led by a princess, late 19th century engraving. ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... ĐurÄ‘evdan is a Serbian religious holiday, celebrated on April 23 by the new, or May 6 by old calendar, which is feast of Saint George. ... John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer or John the Dipper) is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 12th-century mosaic depicting St Demetrios, from the Golden-Roofed Monastery in Kiev. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Various Serbian communities (villages, cities, organisations, political parties, institutions, companies, professions) also celebrate their patron saint: for example, Belgrade celebrates the Ascension as its slava. Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... Belgrade (Serbian: Београд or Beograd  ) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. ... This article is about the Ascension of Jesus Christ. ...

References

1. ^ Jovan F. Trifunovski. Породична слава и сличне славе у охридско-струшкој области (Serbian). Bulletin of the Ethnografical Institute SASA, vol XLV.
2. ^ Petko Hristov. За пропагандната употреба на празника (Bulgarian). Literature Network.

External links

• Srpska slava ili krsno ime - a list of saints, descriptions of customs (Serbian)
• Mrsni post, Zoran Majdin, Vreme 827, 9 November 2006. (Serbian)