Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas across former Yugoslavia

Orthodox Christians in the former Yugoslavia are celebrating Christmas today according to the Julian calendar. In Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, the day is an official public holiday, while Orthodox communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and Kosovo are also marking Christmas today, local media report.

Christmas in Serbia and Montenegro is celebrated solemnly and is accompanied by numerous folk and religious customs. The holiday is dedicated to the birth of new life, family, and children, and symbolizes the coming of light and peace into the world. The Serbian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas over three days, together with the days dedicated to the Holy Mother of God (January 8, old style) and Saint Stephen (January 9), CE Report quotes BTA.

After the midnight service on Christmas Eve, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije is expected to lead a hierarchical Christmas liturgy at the Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade at 9:00 a.m. local time, Tanjug reports. Serbian churches will also read the Christmas message of the bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the celebration of Christmas began with midnight liturgies in all churches, according to regional television RTRS. Traditionally, the celebration lasts three days, during which believers gather in churches.

The spirit of Christmas calls for personal responsibility and for everyone, within their means, to contribute to building a more humane, united, and just society, Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović said on the eve of the holiday, quoted by MINA.

Milatović added that the holiday reminds people of kindness, faith that encourages, and hope that leads toward a better tomorrow.

North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski announced that on Christmas Eve he and several mayors distributed aid packages in several municipalities in Skopje.

“On Christmas Eve today, we distributed aid packages in Karpoš, Gazi Baba, Čair, Aerodrom, Gjorče Petrov, Kisela Voda, Butel, and Centar, with the wish that every family can feel the warmth of the holiday at their table,” Mickoski wrote on Facebook yesterday.

As reported by CE Report, in North Macedonia, Orthodox Christians traditionally celebrate Christmas at home in a family setting, local media report.