 |
 |
Placing the Yule oak tree, the traditional Serbian custom of marking Christmas holidays, survived through the centuries under Turkish rule until the new Serbian state was created in the Balkans. During the Kingdom of Serbia, this traditional ritual was conducted in military barracks so that soldiers during Yule-tide could feel the holiday atmosphere. This practice was regulated by military service standards during the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenians/Yugoslavia, which strictly obeyed the rights of all four confessions in celebrating religious holidays. Thus the behaviour of the army on the Orthodox Christmas Eve was defined in detail. Under the command of a special officer, representatives of all military units would cut Yule-trees in the garrison surroundings and bring them to the royal palace, the Officers’ House, to the eldest garrison commander, to the city command and to each separate military command unit. Civilians and various associations also participated in this festive procession on horses accompanied with music. The Yule-tree was placed by the head of command within the barracks and he would give an appropriate address in accordance with folk custom.
 During the 1930s, public celebration of Christmas obtained an upgraded form. Placing the Yule-tree became a royal ritual performed in the presence of members of the royal family as hosts, representatives of the army and was held in the royal room with a fireplace. At the end of that same decade, a military ritual was organised within military barracks in some parts of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, especially in Vojvodina and Montenegro where the Yule-tree was brought to the town square or at the crossroads. The ritual of placing the Yule-tree was performed by a priest in the presence of soldiers and citizens. From year to year the number of state institutions, private firms, organisations and clubs that joined the Yule-tree procession increased and the celebration obtained the character of a national holiday. This tradition, symbolically confirming the unity of state, church and nation, ended with the outbreak of World War Two.
 After the era of suppression of traditional religious celebrations during socialism, they were re-established in the mid-80s in private homes and next in public spaces in the early 90s. From priests in parishes to the highest administrative circles and the Serbian Orthodox Church, it became clear that public celebration of Christmas was important in order to establish connections with people as well as to improve the status and authority of the church. Therefore, placing the Yule-tree is today performed throughout Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, the Serbian parts of Croatia and Slovenia and among Serbs in the countries of the European Union, North and South Americas and Australia as part of the church celebration of Christmas.
The contemporary public celebration of Christmas is characterised by a common structure of ritual. It is possible to distinguish its three elemental parts: preparation, ritual and festivity. The preparation includes going to cut Yule oak branches, bringing them to the churchyard, decorating the ritual space and preparing food to be served. The ritual as such includes an evening worship service, placing the Yule tree onto a fire in the churchyard, blessing (or consecrating) the tree and a corresponding programme. Folk festivities include getting together around the fire and offering food and beverages.
 Every celebration, however, has its own particularities that mirror traditional home customs of the given environment, and those exercised by the parish priests who brings with him the customs of the areas in which he was raised, but also the real relation of power between local social groups and institutions.
Cutting the Yule tree is the basic activity in preparation of Christmas celebration and can be either individual or collective. Thus in Vojvodina and in some parts of Serbia proper, this act is ceremonial and includes a horsedrawn vehicle and horses. It is frequently accompanied with special rituals, like prayer reading, cutting a young branch with three strokes of an axe that must be turned eastward, tossing wheat, pouring honey and sprinkling holy water. The Yule tree is usually a tall leafy oak or cedar tree. Usually one Yule tree is cut for church (as the symbol of Jesus Christ), sometimes there are three of them (as the symbol of the Holy Trinity) and often a number of young Yule trees are brought to be distributed to believers in the church or churchyard. They are decorated with straw, small branches and ribbon, which is sometimes the Serbian three-color band. There is a special custom in Boka Kotorska (Montenegro), where Yule trees are peeled branches of either oak, olive or almond trees that are cut at the ends and decorated with local greenery and in some places tied with a red ribbon. Bringing the Yule tree to the churchyard can be done without any accompanying activities, but also in a festive mood, with litany, in the presence of the whole local community as is the case in some parts of Boka (Kotorska) and Republika Srpska (B&H).
 The ritual part of the celebration is always pivotal for Christmas events. Vespers service differs from place to place with respect to the beginning of the service, its length and structure. In some cases, this church ritual ends in accord with the home tradition of throwing sweets in straw and children who collect them. Placing the Yule tree on a fire that is usually made at the end of lithurgy and an optional litany circle around the church. The church Yule tree is usually placed by a priest, a member of the Church Board or an specially selected and respected member of the parish. If there is more than a single Yule tree, they are placed in the shape of the cross. Believers then place small branches. The ritual of consecrating or blessing the Yule tree is the most important act of celebration conducted by a priest and is usually accompanied with tossing wheat over the Yule trees, burning incense, chanting "tropars" (hymns) and pouring wine (sometimes honey) over them, along with corresponding prayers. In some regions, however, blessing means sprinkling the Yule tree with holy water. It generally follows after the Yule tree is placed but in some places this is done beforehand, in the churchyard or inside the church. After a short speech by the parish priest at the very end of the ritual, an appropriate programme often follows. This is usually a recital by the church choir that performs songs about Christmas and the Yule tree. In Montenegro, decasyllable folk songs are performed on the "gusle" instrument. In recent years, municipality authorities have sometimes organized handing out Christmas gifts to children.
The final part of the celebration usually includes serving cooked brandy, wine or tea and sometimes lean food, in accord with the Christmas fast. In some regions, a handful of straw or branches of Yule tree are taken home and kept until next Christmas.
At the very end of this story about public Christmas celebrations, it should be pointed out that they change with time. Therefore, this now traditional public ritual is not a petrified custom being repeated every year according to an established pattern but is a dynamic practice that is constantly reshaped and is modified by the local community as its creator. Here we speak about the practice that exists between church ritual and folk traditions. The approaches of the parish priests and representatives of people on church boards, who make all significant decisions, are continuously being adjusted to create programmes for the next celebration of Christmas. | 
