Djamila
Bosnjakinja
How is Christmas celebrated in your country?
Christmas is a very visible religious holiday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, even in urban areas like Sarajevo where more than 80 percent of the people are Muslim.
It is a long-standing tradition for Muslim-dominated communities to decorate certain streets with Christmas lights. These streets are almost always very symbolic. In Sarajevo, for example, one can find Christmas lights on Marsala Tita, the main downtown street. One can also find lights on Dalmatinska, a street names to honor the Dalmatian (a region of Croatia) heritage of most of Sarajevo's Roman Catholic residents. And finally there are lights in the Square of Unity and Brotherhood.
Marsala Tita, Sarajevo
Christmas is a very visible religious holiday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, even in urban areas like Sarajevo where more than 80 percent of the people are Muslim.
It is a long-standing tradition for Muslim-dominated communities to decorate certain streets with Christmas lights. These streets are almost always very symbolic. In Sarajevo, for example, one can find Christmas lights on Marsala Tita, the main downtown street. One can also find lights on Dalmatinska, a street names to honor the Dalmatian (a region of Croatia) heritage of most of Sarajevo's Roman Catholic residents. And finally there are lights in the Square of Unity and Brotherhood.
Marsala Tita, Sarajevo
There are two distinct Christmas celebrations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one on December 24/25 (Roman Catholic) and the other on January 6/7.
Both Christmas celebrations are religious to a much more significant degree than in much of Western Europe and North America. There is no Santa Claus and, although token gifts are exchanged, the celebrations are entirely dedicated to Jesus Christs' birth (as well as related ceremonies, such as those for deceased loved ones, the poor and hungry, and so on).
The era leading up to Christmas is quite different among Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Bosnia. Roman Catholics focus mainly on the community, with various festivals and celebrations all designed to be happy and celebrate. Orthodox Christians focus mainly on their faith, with many choosing the fast to the same degree as Muslims (nothing to eat or drink from sunrise to sunset). There are also numerous festivals and celebrations, but their town is very different.
The best way I can explain it is that if you go to a Roman Catholic ceremony a few weeks before Christmas, everyone is drinking and laughing. If you go to an Orthodox Christian one, there are very few conversations. Most people are praying, teaching their youngest children to pray, and so on.
Both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian Christmas celebrations revolve around the Church and the community it anchors.
Both Christmas celebrations are religious to a much more significant degree than in much of Western Europe and North America. There is no Santa Claus and, although token gifts are exchanged, the celebrations are entirely dedicated to Jesus Christs' birth (as well as related ceremonies, such as those for deceased loved ones, the poor and hungry, and so on).
The era leading up to Christmas is quite different among Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Bosnia. Roman Catholics focus mainly on the community, with various festivals and celebrations all designed to be happy and celebrate. Orthodox Christians focus mainly on their faith, with many choosing the fast to the same degree as Muslims (nothing to eat or drink from sunrise to sunset). There are also numerous festivals and celebrations, but their town is very different.
The best way I can explain it is that if you go to a Roman Catholic ceremony a few weeks before Christmas, everyone is drinking and laughing. If you go to an Orthodox Christian one, there are very few conversations. Most people are praying, teaching their youngest children to pray, and so on.
Both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian Christmas celebrations revolve around the Church and the community it anchors.
Roman Catholic Cathedral, Sarajevo - Christmas Dec. 25
Orthodox Christian Church, Sarajevo - Christmas Jan. 7
Orthodox Christian Church, Sarajevo - Christmas Jan. 7
There are many interesting traditions associated with both religious groups during the Christmas season.
Orthodox Christian families go through a symbolic process of tying their relatives to symbolize rebirth from sin. The first ceremony involves parents tieing their children's wrists and ankles (symbolically), and the children present them with a gift and are untied. The process is repeated next for the mother and then the father's is the last.
Roman Catholic Churches ring their church bells twice - one according to Bosnia's time zone, and again according to the Holy Land's time zone (one hour later).
There are countless other things I could share but I do not understand them enough to confidently explain them. The main point is, though, that Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrate Christmas, passionately, and for them it is an entirely religious celebration.
These days, in Bosnia, there is another group celebrating Christmas as well.
U.S. troops at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo - Christmas Dec. 25
Orthodox Christian families go through a symbolic process of tying their relatives to symbolize rebirth from sin. The first ceremony involves parents tieing their children's wrists and ankles (symbolically), and the children present them with a gift and are untied. The process is repeated next for the mother and then the father's is the last.
Roman Catholic Churches ring their church bells twice - one according to Bosnia's time zone, and again according to the Holy Land's time zone (one hour later).
There are countless other things I could share but I do not understand them enough to confidently explain them. The main point is, though, that Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians in Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrate Christmas, passionately, and for them it is an entirely religious celebration.
These days, in Bosnia, there is another group celebrating Christmas as well.
U.S. troops at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo - Christmas Dec. 25
American soldiers in Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrate Christmas as a celebration of gift-giving, with comparatively nominal emphasis on faith reserved mainly for a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mass.
The soldiers use to dress up as Santa Claus and visit Bosnian schools, with only the best of intentions, but this was banned as it was considered corrupting by Bosnia's Christians, of both major denominations.
American soldiers do an extraordinary amount of good deeds, public relations, and shopping during the Christmas season in Bosnia - all of which are greatly appreciated, especially the latter.
They have their own religious leaders present at Camp Butmir and only those soldiers dating local, Christian women will attend religious services at proper Churches in Sarajevo.
The soldiers use to dress up as Santa Claus and visit Bosnian schools, with only the best of intentions, but this was banned as it was considered corrupting by Bosnia's Christians, of both major denominations.
American soldiers do an extraordinary amount of good deeds, public relations, and shopping during the Christmas season in Bosnia - all of which are greatly appreciated, especially the latter.
They have their own religious leaders present at Camp Butmir and only those soldiers dating local, Christian women will attend religious services at proper Churches in Sarajevo.
