(no subject)
Mom randomly sent me this article about Serbian slavas. Interesting. I didn't realize other Orthodox people didn't do it too.
The foods of Slava
BY BARBARA ROLEK
brolek@nwitimes.com
219.933.3256
Friday is St. John the Baptist day and for hundreds of families in the region that means Krsna Slava.
Of all Orthodox Christians, only Serbians have a Slava -- the custom of celebrating a family's patron saint.
The tradition dates back to the ninth century when Serbs gave up their pagan beliefs and accepted Christianity.
One theory is that each village or tribe adopted a collective saint as its protector; another is that the saint on whose day a man was baptized became his family's patron.
In commemoration of their conversion or spiritual birthday, each family began a yearly celebration to honor their saint, passing the tradition down from generation to generation.
The most common Slavas are St. John the Baptist on Jan. 20, St. George on May 6, St. Michael the Archangel on Nov. 21 and St. Nicholas on Dec. 19, but there are many others.
The Rev. Jovan Todorovich, pastor of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Merrillville, will visit at least 25 homes from Crown Point to Valparaiso after 9 a.m. services Friday to bless slavski kolac (Slava bread), zhito (boiled wheat with honey and walnuts) and red wine, and light a special beeswax candle, the most important components of a Slava.
Kolac represents Christ as the bread of life; zhito is symbolic of Christ's resurrection and commemorates departed family members; red wine is symbolic of Christ's blood; and the candle proclaims Christ as the light of the world.
The kolac is a round 6-inch-high yeast bread with braided dough around its perimeter, a cross on the top and a pecat or seal with the letters IC, XC, NI and KA, which stand for "Jesus Christ the conqueror." A Cyrillic "C" in each quadrant of the cross stands for samo, sloga, Srbina, spasava, which mean "Only unity will save Serbs."
While Slava is about faith and family, it's also a festive occasion and food figures prominently.
"I'll have soup at one person's home, sarma (stuffed cabbage) at another, dessert at another, and so on, depending on the persistence of the family and my schedule," says Todorovich whose patron is Saint Petka, celebrated on Oct. 27.
Violet Kosica, a Hobart resident and the author of "Baba's Recipes: Our South Slavic Legacy" and "Violet's Kitchen," says that her knees would be in better shape today if it hadn't been for so many Slavas.
"I had hot food on the table for every guest from 1 p.m. to late at night. The tables were in the basement family room and the kitchen was upstairs. Up and down those steps so many times was exhausting," the 72-year-old says with a laugh.
The preparation began weeks before. Her menu consisted of chicken noodle soup, sarma, spit-roasted lamb and pork, breads and pastries that ran the gamut of strudels and nut rolls to tortes and cookies, wine, slivovic (plum brandy), and good, strong coffee.
"The family never sits. We serve our company all day long. It's quite an affair keeping the food hot, the dishes and glasses clean and a smile on our faces, but it's a revered tradition among Serbian families," Kosica says.
Lou Mladenovic, the owner of Taste of Europe in Crown Point, was born in Bela Voda, Serbia, and immigrated to the United States in 1973, but the traditions and foods of his homeland have stayed with him.
"In this busy world of ours, Serbs want to maintain the old ways but many don't have the time to prepare the delicacies associated with Slava, so I do it for them," Mladenovic says.
Many feast days he has orders for 30 Slava breads and zhito.
"The key factor in slavski kolac is presentation and taste. There is a lot of pride involved in kolac."
He makes his sarma with kiseli kupus (imported sour cabbage heads) and says no Slava feast would be complete without appetizers of smoked meats, sausages, feta cheeses, kajmak (a cream cheese spread), pogacha (a yeast bread) and other breads he bakes at his specialty shop.
"Slava to a Serbian family is like the Constitution is to the United States of America. It is the backbone of our families and something we abide by," Mladenovic says.
Mmmm, zhito. I'm a bad Serb cuz I don't like sarma; cabbage just isn't my thing.
Random question: Why are my legs sore after the one day Mom and I didn't go to the gym? Not cool.
The foods of Slava
BY BARBARA ROLEK
brolek@nwitimes.com
219.933.3256
Friday is St. John the Baptist day and for hundreds of families in the region that means Krsna Slava.
Of all Orthodox Christians, only Serbians have a Slava -- the custom of celebrating a family's patron saint.
The tradition dates back to the ninth century when Serbs gave up their pagan beliefs and accepted Christianity.
One theory is that each village or tribe adopted a collective saint as its protector; another is that the saint on whose day a man was baptized became his family's patron.
In commemoration of their conversion or spiritual birthday, each family began a yearly celebration to honor their saint, passing the tradition down from generation to generation.
The most common Slavas are St. John the Baptist on Jan. 20, St. George on May 6, St. Michael the Archangel on Nov. 21 and St. Nicholas on Dec. 19, but there are many others.
The Rev. Jovan Todorovich, pastor of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Merrillville, will visit at least 25 homes from Crown Point to Valparaiso after 9 a.m. services Friday to bless slavski kolac (Slava bread), zhito (boiled wheat with honey and walnuts) and red wine, and light a special beeswax candle, the most important components of a Slava.
Kolac represents Christ as the bread of life; zhito is symbolic of Christ's resurrection and commemorates departed family members; red wine is symbolic of Christ's blood; and the candle proclaims Christ as the light of the world.
The kolac is a round 6-inch-high yeast bread with braided dough around its perimeter, a cross on the top and a pecat or seal with the letters IC, XC, NI and KA, which stand for "Jesus Christ the conqueror." A Cyrillic "C" in each quadrant of the cross stands for samo, sloga, Srbina, spasava, which mean "Only unity will save Serbs."
While Slava is about faith and family, it's also a festive occasion and food figures prominently.
"I'll have soup at one person's home, sarma (stuffed cabbage) at another, dessert at another, and so on, depending on the persistence of the family and my schedule," says Todorovich whose patron is Saint Petka, celebrated on Oct. 27.
Violet Kosica, a Hobart resident and the author of "Baba's Recipes: Our South Slavic Legacy" and "Violet's Kitchen," says that her knees would be in better shape today if it hadn't been for so many Slavas.
"I had hot food on the table for every guest from 1 p.m. to late at night. The tables were in the basement family room and the kitchen was upstairs. Up and down those steps so many times was exhausting," the 72-year-old says with a laugh.
The preparation began weeks before. Her menu consisted of chicken noodle soup, sarma, spit-roasted lamb and pork, breads and pastries that ran the gamut of strudels and nut rolls to tortes and cookies, wine, slivovic (plum brandy), and good, strong coffee.
"The family never sits. We serve our company all day long. It's quite an affair keeping the food hot, the dishes and glasses clean and a smile on our faces, but it's a revered tradition among Serbian families," Kosica says.
Lou Mladenovic, the owner of Taste of Europe in Crown Point, was born in Bela Voda, Serbia, and immigrated to the United States in 1973, but the traditions and foods of his homeland have stayed with him.
"In this busy world of ours, Serbs want to maintain the old ways but many don't have the time to prepare the delicacies associated with Slava, so I do it for them," Mladenovic says.
Many feast days he has orders for 30 Slava breads and zhito.
"The key factor in slavski kolac is presentation and taste. There is a lot of pride involved in kolac."
He makes his sarma with kiseli kupus (imported sour cabbage heads) and says no Slava feast would be complete without appetizers of smoked meats, sausages, feta cheeses, kajmak (a cream cheese spread), pogacha (a yeast bread) and other breads he bakes at his specialty shop.
"Slava to a Serbian family is like the Constitution is to the United States of America. It is the backbone of our families and something we abide by," Mladenovic says.
Mmmm, zhito. I'm a bad Serb cuz I don't like sarma; cabbage just isn't my thing.
Random question: Why are my legs sore after the one day Mom and I didn't go to the gym? Not cool.