Christmas in the Balkans: Calendars, Badnjak and Family Differences
Oak branches photographed as Badnjak, illustrating one Serbian Christmas Eve custom. Photo: MarinaSimic / Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0 . No content alteration; resized display. There is no single Balkan Christmas. The region includes different Christian traditions, other religions, secular households and families combining more than one set of customs. A useful introduction begins with the calendar, then looks at a specific practice without making it speak for everyone. Why December 25 can fall on January 7 Some Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar for fixed feasts. In the present calendar relationship, December 25 on that calendar corresponds to January 7 on the Gregorian civil calendar. The difference concerns which civil day corresponds to the church’s December 25, rather than a disagreement that Christmas has a different name or purpose. The Orthodox Church in America’s explanation also points out that many Orthodox Christians celebrate on civil December 25. The Gree...