Abstract
A family celebration named slava or krsna slava (celebration/glorification or christened celebration) is a unique custom within the tradition of the Serbian Orthodox Church, where each family annually celebrates its patron saint. Besides Christmas, slava represents one of the most important celebrations in the life of each family. Though its roots reach as far back as the medieval times, slava and its role in the family tradition were neglected and marginalized during the communist period of the Serbian history. With the revitalization of religion and especially the reaffirmation of the Serbian Orthodox Church at the end of the last century, slava regained its significance and recognition, and even exceeded the private family sphere. It is nowadays often used as an indicator of one’s nationality and status with little real connection to its authentic religious meaning and purpose. Additionally, this originally family custom has now become a celebration day for many public institutions, companies, and professional associations. This paper aims to present slava’s distinctive structure and features, as well as explore ways in which the transformation is related to the revitalization of religion and growing nationalism in transitional Serbian society.
Highlights
A family celebration named the slava or krsna slava is a unique custom within the tradition of the Serbian Orthodox Church when each family annually celebrates its patron saint
Besides having a distinctively religious character, its social aspect is mostly expressed through the feast as a profane element, and its function in regulating interpersonal and intergroup social relations is based on the reciprocity of hospitality (Bandić 1997; Sinani 2012)
The slava has increasingly been understood as a sort of national ethnic Serbian symbol
Summary
The name itself denotes celebration (slava) or christened celebration (krsna slava), and refers to the family custom of annually celebrating a patron saint on a particular feast day. Other names used for this celebration are christened name (krsno ime), saint (svetac), holiday (praznik), holy (sveti), service (služba), and wisdom to the holy (pamet svetom). As a joint celebration of the family as a collective the slava is the only holiday that ‘belongs to a certain, specific family’ (Bandić 1986, 18) In this respect the former Serbian Patriarch Pavle emphasised: Other Christian Orthodox people celebrate their name days or birthdays, but we, on the other hand, celebrate our patron saint’s day. In the light of these arguments the slava was regarded as a type of cult of collectivity, while ‘its several days’ ritual, to a great extent, reflects a specific assimilation or syncretism between the old pagan and Christian motifs, acts, and symbols’ (Vukomanović 2001, 71) Another group of academics emphasises the church’s role in the creation and development of this custom. Even in such cases the old slava is never forgotten or neglected, but remains as a more moderately celebrated side-celebration called the pre-slava (preslava) or little slava (mala slava)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
