How to Greet People on Christmas Day in Serbia
Merry Christmas & Srećan Božić with a few great blog posts from the previous years and one brand new video about Christmas:
- How to pronounce Christmas greetings in Serbian ( published in 2012) - click
- Great SMS Christmas messages to send & free Serbian language course (published in 2016 ) - click
- Beautiful Christmas songs in Serbian (published back in 2010) - click
Video o Božiću u Srbiji
Two dates, one greeting
Serbian Orthodox Christmas falls on 7 January, because the Serbian Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar. That is why greetings appear in Serbia twice — once around 25 December for friends abroad and Catholic neighbours, and once on 7 January at home.
The greeting itself is an exchange rather than a single phrase. Someone says Hristos se rodi! and the answer is Vaistinu se rodi! There is no improvising the reply, and knowing it is the difference between watching the moment and being part of it. Srećan Božić works alongside it as the everyday wish.
Christmas greetings and replies
| Latinica | Ћирилица | English |
|---|---|---|
| Hristos se rodi! — Vaistinu se rodi! | Христос се роди! — Ваистину се роди! | Christ is born! — Indeed he is born! |
| Srećan Božić tebi i tvojima. | Срећан Божић теби и твојима. | Merry Christmas to you and yours. |
| Mir Božji, Hristos se rodi! | Мир Божји, Христос се роди! | God's peace, Christ is born! |
| Badnje veče provodimo kod bake. | Бадње вече проводимо код баке. | We spend Christmas Eve at grandma's. |
| Za Božić se peče pečenica. | За Божић се пече печеница. | For Christmas the roast is prepared. |
Learn the pair, not the phrase
Practise the greeting and its answer as one unit, out loud, until the reply arrives without thinking. Then add the name of the person you are greeting. On the day itself you will have perhaps two seconds to respond, and a phrase you have to assemble is a phrase you will not use.
Christmas wishes in Serbian
Write these greetings in Serbian and practise saying the exchange with its reply. Both alphabets.
- Merry Christmas!
- What is the reply to that greeting?
- We celebrate on the seventh of January.
- Happy holidays to your family.
- Christmas Eve is on the sixth.
Answers for the Christmas greetings
| English | Latinica | Ћирилица |
|---|---|---|
| Merry Christmas! | Srećan Božić! | Срећан Божић! |
| What is the reply to that greeting? | Šta se odgovara na taj pozdrav? | Шта се одговара на тај поздрав? |
| We celebrate on the seventh of January. | Slavimo sedmog januara. | Славимо седмог јануара. |
| Happy holidays to your family. | Srećni praznici tvojoj porodici. | Срећни празници твојој породици. |
| Christmas Eve is on the sixth. | Badnje veče je šestog. | Бадње вече је шестог. |