Today is big in this part of Europe.
✝️️ It's Epiphany (Bogojavljivanje/Богоявление/Θεοφάνεια/Bobotează) in Orthodox Christian countries using the 'new' calendar (Greece, Bulgaria and Romania) and Catholic regions (particularly Croatia).
💧 Today is marked by the blessing of water, the most symbolic of which is the Orthodox Christian tradition of throwing of a wooden cross into cold waters, be it the sea, a lake, a river or even a pool or fountain, with the young man (traditionally no women are allowed to participate – boo!) catching or retrieving the cross having good luck for the rest of the year.
🙏 Around this time of the year Catholic and Orthodox priests make house calls to bless homes and, increasingly, offices and other public places. It's customary (OK, mandatory) to tip the priest for this service. There was a bit of controversy in 2024 in Croatia as some priests complained that with the country's adoption of the euro that the going rate of their tips went from 100 kuna (around 13.80 euros) to 10 euros.
🇧🇬 The most extravagant celebrations are in Bulgaria, where the леденото хоро (the "Ice Horo") happens. This is where loads of men dressed in traditional Bulgarian garb pile into the icy waters of rivers around Bulgaria, particularly in the small town of Kalofer.
It looks like an old and very traditional ceremony... it's not!
Despite efforts by some Bulgarian nationalist historians to claim otherwise, it was the Communist authorities who first devised such an event in the mid-1970s as a highly choreographed and, of course, non-religious alternative to traditional Epiphany celebrations, with a bit of bravado added. The plan was to transform this into a tourist attraction. Then there was no record of any such Ice Horo happening anywhere in Bulgaria until it was (re)started in Kalofer in the late 2000s, and thanks to the imagery being spread on social media, the practice was quickly adopted in other Bulgarian cities. So blind were many Bulgarians to the non-traditional nature of this "old tradition" that protection was sought from UNESCO as an intangible part of world culture. UNESCO rightfully rejected such a proposal on grounds that there was no evidence that this "tradition" has been passed down the generations or that it even existed 20 years ago, let alone from the ages.
⛪ January 6 is also St Jordan's Day, the name day for anyone whose name is or derives from 'Jordan' (Yordanka, Dana, etc.), or a name referring to god ('Bog' in Slavic languages), so Bozhidar, Bozhanka, Daniel (Hebrew for 'gift of god'), etc. Yordan and Yordanka are particularly popular names in Bulgaria, so if you want to impress your Bulgarian colleagues, wish them a happy Yordanovden.
🔥 For the other Balkan Orthodox countries using the old calendar (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia), today is Christmas Eve, otherwise known as Badnji veče/Бадник/Коледе. This evening is marked by the burning of a log 🪵, bonfire or a whole tree, known as a badnjak/badnik, a practice related to the pan-European yule log tradition and also performed in other (new calendar) Orthodox countries on 24 December. However, particularly in Macedonia, the tradition has increasingly come under fire (yes, pun intended) due to its pagan roots.
🗓️ Do note that this is not "Orthodox Christmas" as not all Orthodox Christian countries use the old calendar.
🌱 Tonight also marks the end of the pre-Christmas 'post', i.e. 40 days on a strict vegan diet, however for most people they only leave that dietary requirement for tonight's spread. So it's a perfect time to invite your vegan friends over.
☨ Otherwise, Christmas in these countries tends to be a somewhat low-key event, with most of the celebrations associated with Christmas in other countries having happened on New Year's Eve a week earlier (presents, tree, decorations, cards, annual gift giver, etc.).
So if you've been wondering why you haven't been hearing from your Balkan work colleagues or affiliate, this is why.
☪︎ As for the Muslim regions of the Balkans, it's just a normal workday.
🌟 Happy holidays to everyone who is celebrating today!
✨ Среќен Божиќ
✨ Срећан Божић
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