Slava

This past weekend, the town of Lozovo celebrated its Slava.  Each city and town in Macedonia has its own Slava, where the town saint is celebrated during its commemorated day.  Each household also has its own saint as well, and I believe my host family celebrates its Slava at the end of November.  A family usually celebrates its Slava by attending a liturgy at the local church and bringing a sweetened loaf of bread to be blessed.  After the service, the family returns home and shares the bread with the rest of the family.  The bread signifies a bloodless sacrifice, commemorating Jesus Christ’s own sacrifice on the cross.

Lozovo celebrated its saint, Saint Petka, on October 27 at the new church in town.  Saint Petka (also known as Saint Parascheva) was born in Europe in the 11^th century near Istanbul.  The stories of Saint Petka are blurred (she may have left despite her parents’ insistence not to leave, she may have left after they passed away), but she led an ascetic, pious life where she left her hometown and fasted in the Jordanian desert.   After years of fasting, God appeared to Petka and instructed her to return home so that she “may give her body to the earth and her sould to God.”  After her death, her remains (relics) were carried throughout the Balkans, and thus she serves as an emblematic saint for the region.

The Slava started pretty late at the new church in Lozovo.  Once the sun was set on Saturday evening, a small band consisting of singers, a saxophone player, and a keyboard player played the oro to the villagers.  Food was offered to all of the guests, and  beer was available for purchase.  Men and women, young and old, joined together to celebrate their town, eat, and dance the oro all night long.  My host brother, Alexandar, returned from Skopje and we made our way to the Slava.  It was definitely a joyous event, and the celebration drew two volunteers from last year, Scott and Justin.  Aleksandar and I left the Slava momentarily so that we could celebrate the Slava of his sister’s family’s household.  We ate and relaxed a couple of hours before he and his girlfriend headed to a graduation party, and I headed back to the Slava to dance the oro some more.

How does one dance the oro?  As the music plays, people join hands and gather in a circle facing each other.  All synchronize their steps as they continue to move together counter-clockwise in the circle.  Most oros are simple in their steps for occasions like these, but they can become pretty complicated for those who have advanced oro skills.

As the celebration ended for the night, a few of the volunteers headed to the highlight of Saturday nights in Lozovo- Club Trend.  Scores of high school students (and some college students) gathered in the bar or loitered outside of it.  We assumed the club was more crowded than usual since many of these youngsters visited from afar for the Slava.  It was great to finally experience Club Trend, since I could hear the pulse of its music every Saturday night from my bedroom.  Inside the small coffee bar, teenagers and young adults drank their beers as they sang and danced to the most popular Serbian dance songs, also known as Turbo Folk. 

The next day, my family put on our Sunday best and returned to the oro.  While people danced outside, all were invited to enter the church.  Before entering, my family and I crossed ourselves three times.  Once inside, we each bought five candles, lit them, and placed them in a communal altar for our intentions.  As I lit mine, I kept in mind my father who is sick back at home, and I prayed for his quick recovery.

The townspeople continued to relax, dance, and eat as they enjoyed their Slava.  It was great to see all of the people I had met in Lozovo at a common celebration, and I enjoyed celebrating with them.  I definitely look forward to returning to Lozovo next year to celebrate again!