Orthodox Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, Badnje Veche, here in Montenegro is a very interesting day. It is the last day of a 40 day fast for the Orthodox. They fast from beef, chicken (including eggs) and pork.

Last night we had a very delicious meal at our friend's home: pumpkin soup, bean soup, fried trout, home made bread zhito (traditional dish made with wheat, walnuts and sugar), vegetables and a type of baklavah.

After dinner, the guys went out and brought in the badnjak -- a small oak tree. They actually just brought in small branches that we put in the Christmas tree. Traditionally, you are supposed to burn them in the fire and stir the fire to make sparks. But, apartment life does not allow for that. As they entered, we threw grain at them to welcome them (actually it was peanuts, because all the wheat was used in making the zhito).

Here are our friends, Valentina, Branka, Danilo and Danka.

This is a picture of the pile of oak branches that are burning in front of the Orthodox Church. It was a DOWNPOUR of rain at the time we got out of the car to go take a picture, so I did not take the time to set up the tripod for a good picture. So, trying to hold the umbrella, camera and focus was a bit challenging.

If you look in the back ground, you can see the rain falling. It rained ALL day long. They had to help the fire along with a bit of kerosene or something. The flying sparks indicate the success in the new year.