January 7th every year is the most solemn Christmas celebration day for Serbian residents who believe in the Orthodox Church, and this year is no exception. Lights are flashing in the streets, and children are scrambling to take photos with Santa Claus with balloons in their hands. At 12 o'clock noon, the masters of Belgrade Bakers' Federation pushed the newly baked Christmas bread among hundreds of old people and children who had been waiting for a long time in the city center. According to the ancient traditional custom, the masters broke the Christmas bread into small pieces and distributed them to everyone. There are gold coins in the bread, and the winner of the gold coin will be the luckiest person this year. Different from previous years, this year's launch is not just one, but three breads, the largest of which has a net weight of 25 kg. Amid people's cheers, three gold coins in three loaves were given to two 14-year-old children and an old man respectively. As an ancient Sect, the ancient traditional custom preserved to this day abides by the ancient Juliano calendar, so the Christmas of the Orthodox Church in Russia, Serbia and Georgia is 13 days later than that of the Catholic Church on December 25th, and January 7th every year is the most solemn commemorative festival for Orthodox believers. Different from other ethnic groups such as Russia, in addition to its religious significance, Serbs associate it more with the beginning of the new year when celebrating this festival. According to the statistics of the local Political Newspaper, 46.2% of the respondents believe that the celebration on this day is not for religious reasons, but more for the continuation of some folk customs and traditions of the nation, which is the beginning of a new year. The most gratifying thing for local cultural circles is that with the celebration of festivals year after year, many ancient traditional customs of Serbian people have been preserved in the vast number of small and medium-sized towns and rural areas. As the most grand festival for local residents, before January 1, families began to get busy. Cleaning the room, killing pigs and sheep, cooking all kinds of food, according to the traditional saying, within three days after Christmas, no pots and pans can be moved in the house, nothing in the room can be moved, and even bedding does not need to be stacked. Because the family believes that the spirits of ancestors are wandering among everything in the house these days, as long as they are not disturbed, they can bless the happiness and peace of the whole family in the new year, so everything for food, clothing and use must be prepared before the festival. The busiest day before Christmas is the day before Christmas on January 6. In the morning, the whole family has to get up at dawn, and all the men in the family have to go to the Woods to cut down a lot of branches needed for the fire during the festival. Usually, young oak or oak trees are used, but pine or cypress branches are also used in some areas of Serbia. After finding suitable trees in the forest, everyone should first stand facing east and cross their hands to pray. After praying for three times, they should start to work, and the whole tree should be cut down with three axes. People repeat the story in the Bible through these actions: when Jesus came, St. Joseph took back the firewood and lit a warm flame in a cold cave. The sawdust chopped off by the axe should be taken home and put in a wooden box for brewing cheese, which indicates that cheese will be as thick as sawdust this year. When men cut down branches in the Woods, women began to prepare all kinds of vegetarian food for family dinner at home in the evening. First of all, they must go to the well in the morning to carry enough clean water into their homes. According to traditional customs, the whole family can only use the clean water brought in in the morning all day. Then they have to feed all kinds of poultry and livestock raised at home so that the whole family can have a quiet dinner in the evening without being disturbed. Interestingly, in many places, the dog can't be fed anything during this day, otherwise it will be very grumpy in the new year. Since the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus on the hay in a private hotel stable in Bethlehem, in the evening, families need to spread some fresh hay on the land in the house and put four walnuts in the four corners of the room, symbolizing that God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is in charge of the east, west, south and north corners. In the evening, lock the door, light candles, scatter the food and incense in every corner of the house, sit on the land covered with hay, next to the crackling flames of oak branches, and the whole family solemnly began a rich vegetarian dinner on Christmas Eve. In addition to food such as bread and wine, you should also have soybeans that your ancestors used to eat most often in the pioneering era, as well as walnuts and dried plums that symbolize the bumper harvest throughout the year. There must be a plate of lush green wheat seedlings on the dining table, which symbolizes the vitality of the whole family and nature during the year. There is a candle in the middle of the seedling, which needs to be lit until the arrival of Jesus. Sneeze to wish good luck for the whole year. On January 7th, housewives have to get up before dawn, go to wells or other water sources where grains have been scattered in advance, bring unused "clean water" home before sunrise, then put on clean traditional holiday costumes, light candles, sing blessing songs, and start baking Eucharist bread symbolizing Jesus' body in a very grand atmosphere. Just like after Jesus was born, several wise men came from the East and brought gold and other gifts to Jesus. Therefore, the first person to walk into the house on Christmas Day is also called the wise man or the god of good news, usually a boy, which means that he will bring peace and good luck to his family all year round and will be honored as a guest by his family all day. After going to church, Christmas lunch can be said to be the most lively and rich gathering in a year, and the whole family should be in place. At the beginning of lunch, the oldest person in the family broke the Eucharist bread into small pieces. The first piece was dedicated to God, the second piece to the wise man who came, the third piece to the passing guests, and then the bread was broken to every member of the family. Usually a coin or gold coin is added to bread, and the winner will be the luckiest person this year. According to this custom, the chefs of Belgrade Bakers Association distribute bread in the center of Belgrade every year, which leads to the scene at the beginning of this article. Families sometimes soak bread in red wine symbolizing the blood of Jesus, which indicates that the whole family will be very harmonious throughout the year. In addition, in many villages in Serbia, it is believed that sneezing on Christmas Day will bring good luck to families, so at least one sneeze should be started on this day. Limitations of modern city life The day after Christmas is a day when people visit relatives and friends, visit each other and visit each other. On January 9, families will move the hay or burned branches out of the room. The charred charcoal is reserved for medicine, while the hay is taken to the orchard to bind the fruit trees for the winter, or scattered in the farmland to be cultivated next year. January 1th is generally called "Women's Christmas", because there is food left at home for the festival. Housewives who have worked hard for a year can gather together on this day, laugh, dance and play, and enjoy the fun all year round. Due to the limitations of modern life, urban residents have to transform and change these traditional customs. In addition to distributing bread, some restaurants also distribute fish soup and various vegetarian foods for free on Christmas Eve. Some social celebrities and musicians will go to nursing homes, orphanages and other places to distribute gifts to the elderly and children, and play the piano and violin for free. Milivoje, an old man who is buying oak branches in the free market, told reporters, "Peace, friendship, respect and happiness are the greatest wishes of people at Christmas, and the youngest 8-year-old grandson at home is the biggest beneficiary of the festival. We will make some arrangements to let the youngest grandson walk into the house first at Christmas, so that he will be the happiest person at home all day." The old woman Milla simic said, "It's a pity that we can't celebrate the holidays as we used to do in the countryside, but we will try our best to follow the traditional way, such as oak branches, hay, bread, a hearty lunch, etc., which will not be lacking. However, the most important thing is that the whole family can sit together and feel the family happiness after one year."