The Scranton chronicle., 1903-02-07
THE sERvIAN "a sLAvA."
Descriptive account OF Curious Ma
tIonaI Ceremonial OF the
serxian-.

The ~slaxa. or family saints day, is
peculiarly Sersian institution. II
one Is ever in doubt about the nation
atty Of slaTs inquire II they observe
the .sssasa." II they do they are un-
donhtedly Seryians Even families
Who have become Moslems genera
lions ago continue to celebrate their
patron saints in Bosnia and Albania,
says the London Post.
On their "slavar day Servian fam
lies expect to be visited by all their
friends and aequaintances. 4 book
is published in Belgrade tabnlating all
the saints of the various families, and
every diplomatic agent who desires to
keep on good terms with the people
must study ii carefully, as the neg
leet 81 a friends "slava" is a grave
social offense.
A recent day was the orthodox
Miehaelmas. which shares with ST.
Nicholas day prime popularity in Bel
grade. and any one with large circle
OF aequaintances had TO pay az least
40 or so visits.
The proceedings begin with q re-
ligious ceremony. In the morning the
whole family and as many friends as
possible assemble in the principal
room of the house. pope in gorgeous
yestments stands beside a table, on
which are arrayed a crucifix, plate
full of water, a sprig of basilica. a
knife, glass of red wine and a large
round breadlike cake. After prayers,
which are punetuated by the melodi-
Gus chant "Gospodine pomilui" Uord
have mercy, the pope takes crucifix
and makes the sign of the cross with 1t
in the water. He does the same with
the sprig of basilica, and solemnly
sprinkles the assembly.
Then the various members of the
family advance in turn, kiss the cruci-
fix and receive a sousing over the head.
After this all begin to sing while the
pope takes up the cake, turns il over,
and deftly cuts it so that il may easily
be broken in halves. A second stroke
of the knife completes the sign of the
cross in the center of which he pours
some red wine. The head of the house
hold now advances and stands facing
the pope. They hold the cake in their
hands and spin IL slowly round many
times. AT last they clench il firmly
and bend IL until it breaks in two. The
pieces are held side by side and sol
emnly kissed at each corner by the
pope and the head of the household.
The ceremony is now over; the guests
offer their congratulations; wine,
jam, and plum brandy are handed
round.
On most "slava" days a kind of corn
pudding is also a prominent feature.
This is the same confection as is car
ried in front of funeral. At Michael
mas and on the day of Elijah (who is
also a saint in the orthodox calendar)
ii is omitted. because he and St.
Michael still live.
Elijah is regarded as the patron OF
thunder. and there is legend that il
he ever came to know Of his day he
would make such an uproar in the
heavens that half the world would be
killed by his lightnings. So lis sister,
who is also a saint. never allows him
to see a calendar. She promises to let
him know when his day comes round,
but out of regard for mankind con-
veniently forgets. When the first
storm occurs after his day the people
believe that he has just discovered her
forget fnlness and is making small
belated manifestation.