page_title: Slava
section_title: Celebration
hierarchical_section_title: Slava / Celebration
caption_attribution_description: Image taken from page 190 of 'Србија, опис земле, народа и државе ... Илустровао ... В. Тителбах' (11187462976).
context_page_description: The Slava is a Serbian Orthodox Christian tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron saint. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the saint's feast day. In November 2014 it was inscribed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
context_section_description: Где је слава, ту је Србин / Gde je slava, tu je Srbin ("Where there is a Slava, there is a Serb")
  — Miloš Milojević, 
  The ritual foods that are prepared for the feast are the slavski kolač (or simply kolač) = a ritual bread, and koljivo (or žito), a dish of minced boiled wheat, sweetened and sometimes mixed with chopped walnuts. The top of the kolač is adorned with the Christian cross, the peace dove, and other symbols. The koljivo is a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ (cf. "if the grain does not die..." in the Gospel) and partaken in memory of the dead (deceased family members). 
  The rest of the feast consists of a meal, the contents of which depends on whether or not the celebration falls in a period of fasting. During a fast (post), the meal would not contain any meat other than fish or other seafood, and would be highly unlikely to contain eggs or dairy products. Outside of a fasting period, these restrictions would not apply (mrsno). Thus, colloquially, slavas can be referred to as posna or mrsna. Appropriately-made sweets are consumed, as well.
  The family attends church services and partakes in Holy Communion on the feast day. Following the service, traditionally, the parish priest is received in the family's home or the family brings the slavski kolač to the church. The parish priest performs a small service which entails venerating the patron saint's memory, blessing the 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.
  The most common feast days are St. Nicholas (Nikoljdan, 19 December), St. George (Đurđevdan, 6 May), St. John the Baptist (Jovanjdan, 20 January), St. Demetrius (Mitrovdan, 8 November), St. Michael (Aranđelovdan, 21 November) and St. Sava (Savindan, 27 January). Dates given are according to the Gregorian calendar. The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar.
  Many Serbian communities (villages, cities, organizations, political parties, institutions, companies, professions) also celebrate their patron saint. For example, the city of Belgrade celebrates the Ascension of Jesus Christ as its patronal feast.
caption: Breaking the kolač, illustration by V. Titelbah, 1877.
exif: {"Image Copyright": "Public Domain, from the British Library's collections, 2013"}