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By Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh, PA, Wednesday, January 07, 2004
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Christmas is not over.
Not for millions of people across America, including 20,000 in Pittsburgh --
Serbian, Russian and Ukrainian -- who celebrate Orthodox Christmas.
Today is the day.
Many kicked the celebrations into high gear yesterday -- Christmas Eve -- by
streaming into gilded sanctuaries for liturgies, choir music and Byzantine
melodies.
For the Serbian community at St. Elijah Church in Aliquippa, it was a return
to tradition.
One of the key rituals is the burning of the badnjak, or yule log, a young
oak tree decorated with red, blue and white ribbons -- the colors of the
Serbian flag. The branches are covered with candy and honey, in the hope of
a sweet new year to come.
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The Rev. Stevan Stepanov watches a yule log burn while singing with his
parishoners yesterday in front of St. Elijah Church in Aliquippa during a
celebration of Orthodox Christmas. The flying embers are intended to
symbolize the light that Christmas offers the world. About 20,000 people of
Russian, Serbian and Ukranian descent in the Pittsburgh area will celebrate
Christmas
Martha Rial, Post-Gazette
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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It is highly symbolic of Christ, said the Rev. Stevan Stepanov, who has led
the church for more than 20 years.
Because the tree is young, it represents the Christ child; its hard wood
stands for the strength of God; the fire is symbolic of trial and
persecution. As the tree burns, its sparks take flight, a symbol of the
light that Christians holds for the world; its smoke ascends to heaven,
representing the spirit of Christ.
At St. Elijah, parishioners arrived yesterday afternoon in cars bedecked in
red, blue and white ribbons to chop down the young oak tree, which is
planted every year, just for this special occasion. A special prayer was
recited and a choir sang.
Afterward, in a church ceremony, the children threw wheat, nuts and coins as
the tree passed by. The priest led the way, trailed by altar boys carrying
crosses and icons from the altar. The priest blessed the icons, the family
and the "home."
After the liturgy, the Serbs take the badnjak outside and set it on fire. As
the sparks fly in the cold air, they say prayers and parishioners are given
oak sprigs to take home and place next to their icons.
In Serbia, each family would burn one. In America, it's usually part of a
communal celebration to ensure the custom does not fade away.
Similar celebrations took place at Serbian Orthodox churches across the
region.
"The meaning of the evening permeates," said Steve Klipa, who lives in
Monroeville and attends St. Nicholas there. "We have full realization of the
love that Christ brought into the world and all of our symbolism reflects
and radiates this."
Today, Orthodox Christians return to church for Christmas.
Many welcome the later celebration, saying it gives them the opportunity to
bypass the commercialism of the earlier Christmas.
Orthodox Christmas is 13 days after Dec. 25 because many Eastern Orthodox
churches still hold to the old Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar.
Most Roman Catholics, Protestants and Greek Orthodox use the Gregorian
calendar, named for Pope Gregory XIII, who abolished the old calendar in
1582, shortening it by 13 days.
Ervin Dyer can be reached at edyer@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1410.
http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20040107christmas0107p3.asp
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