The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-27
Serbs Sadly Celebrate
 St. Sava's Feast Day

This is Serbia's greatest religious
 fesat day, which commemorates St.
 Sava the patron and protector of the
 Balkan Kingdom which has lately fared so i'll at the hands of the Teu-
 tonic Hungarian and Bulgarian in vaders. With their capital in ruins,
 their king an exile, the survivors of
 their shattered army scattered and routed, their women and children at
 the mercy of savage brigands, their towns razed and their fields devastat-
 ed with nearly every family mourn ing it's dead, and with their country in the possession of the enemy, the Serbians have no reason for jubiIation.
 Sad as is their lot, however, they have not lost faith in the protecting power of St. Sava, and pitiful prayers for his intercession will be spoken to-day all over the stricken land. The thousands of Serbians on this side of the Atlantic, although grief-striclken by the fate of their father1and, will not forego their customary observan- ces of the day, so far as religious ser vices are concerned, but the old coun- try dancing and narrynaaking which formerly characterized the day will
 The history of St. Sava recalls the past misfortunes of that oft-stricken land. Sava, who was a prince of the royal house, lived in the thirteenth century. He spent his life travelling from village to village, giving the people their first great impetus toward civilization, and spreading the love of learning throughout the land. It was while he was carrying on a similar work in Bulgaria that he was strick- en with with Illness and died. This fact will be recalled with bitterness in to-day's observance, now that Bull garia is the foe of Serbia Until a few years ago the Serbians and Bulga- rians in America held joint celebra- tions of St. Sava's Day but any Bull garian who attempted to take part in the proceedings to-day would doubt less fare i'll.
 The remains of St. Sava were inter red in one of the principal churches of the country, and there remained until the invasion of the Turks in the fourteenth century. The bones of the saint, together with many other sa- cred relics. were burned by the Mos 1erns. The memory of this insult still rankles in the hearts of Serbians, and constitutes an important count in the Serbian indictment of their heredi- tary foe.
 When the Serbs fought Turkey a few years ago, their battle cry was Re St. Savai''
 Bitter as is their hatred of the Turks the Serbians have even less love for their former friends, the Bulgarians. The centuries of oppression they suf- fered at the hands of the Moslens now seems nothing to the Serbians as compared with what they call the treachery of the Bulgarians. If the tide of battle should turn while the Serbs are in their present mood, they might exhibit some mercy toward the Turks;z but with Bulgaria it would be war to the knife, and the knife to the hilt, if we accept the statements of Amertcanized Serbs who are in close communication with friends and relatives in the fatherland. Given the opportunity to strike back at the Bulsars. they say, the Serbs would spare neither man, woman nor child, but, in their present temper, would sIay all. This is probably an exag- geration, and given the upper hand, the Serbs would likely display the magpanin1ity of victors. In their pres ent temper, however, they insist that Europe is too small for both BuIgars and Serbs, and that the latter can never forget nor forgive the 'sbIow in the back administered by ther for mer allies.
 ''St. Sava was great teacher says a Serb writer. "He civilized our people. And he tried to civilize the BuIgars, but only God Himself could do that-and even on that point we have doubters among us.''