Holidays & Celebrations

This past month we've enjoyed, learned about, and celebrated a multitude of holidays:



Day of the Albanian Alphabet - Albanian:
The Albanian alphabet was formalized on 27 November 1908 in what is now Bitola, Macedonia. Language is integral to their cultural and ethnic identity so this is more than a celebration of the alphabet. For more information and to see the Albanian alphabet, click here.


Thanksgiving - American:
Every year Peace Corps Macedonia organizes a Thanksgiving celebration. This year 26 turkeys were shipped in from the U.S. and all the Volunteers brought food to share...ours being mashed potatoes and party potatoes. Because the new group of Volunteers came about two weeks earlier this year, their swearing-in ceremony happened to coincide with Thanksgiving. We celebrated in a restaurant in Kumanovo with our fellow Volunteers, the host families of the new Volunteers, as well as the US Ambassador to Macedonia and the Macedonian Minister of Education.

Eid al-Adha, called Small Bajram here- Muslim (primarily Albanian & Turkish in MK):
This is a "Festival of Sacrifice" celebrated my Muslims in remembrance of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. In thanksgiving for having food and shelter, families sacrifice sheep and cows and give them to the poor. This is a major holiday for Muslims and we were invited to our good friend Vjosa's house where we enjoyed wonderful food and sweets -- primarily baklava, which is made in every home. We then visited our other friends, Hyrije and Amir, for many more sweets. The hospitality of the people here is incredible and you are sure never to leave a house hungry!

* Every day around Bajram I came home with a plate -- or four -- filled with treats (mostly baklava) from friends, students and women from my English course. Being the huge baklava fan that Conor is, he loved seeing another plate in my hands.

* On our way through the village to Vjosa's house we were greeted by several of my 8th grade students who were excited for a picture.

Saint Clement of Ohrid Day - Macedonian Orthodox:
Saint Clement is a Macedonian saint and national hero. It is akin to St. Patrick's Day in Ireland (without the huge celebrations). For more information on Saint Celement, click here.



Slavas - Macedonian Orthodox:
Each Macedonian Orthodox family selects a saint to watch over and protect its house. Each year the household celebrates the day of its chosen saint. These are the most important celebrations of the year for Macedonian families, even bigger than Christmas and Easter. Families spend days preparing vegan foods and desserts and on the day or night of their celebration friends and family stop by.

We have attended four Slavas the past few weeks:

* Our good friend and language tutor Alek and his family

* Marija, Club GLOW leader, serves Conor a sweet wheat dish. It is a tradition to eat one bite of this upon arrival. And look at that bread! Marija's mom made it herself!

Day of the Turkish Alphabet - Turkish:

The Turkish also recently celebrated the standardization of their alphabet on 21 December. To see the Turkish alphabet, click here.



Albanian Wedding - Albanian:
Traditionally Albanian weddings here in Macedonia are a week long with specific celebrations each night. On the night before the final day women gather and spend the night dancing and eating together. Halfway through the celebration the bride and groom enter and join the party, however no other men are allowed. Often the close family members put a spot of henna on the bride's hand with a gold coin to symbolize a prosperous marriage. I was invited to attend this night with some women from my English course. The dresses were amazing and many of the women at the party changed up to three times throughout the night. It is also common to see several young women in bridal gowns. I have to admit I was very confused the first time I saw this, however I learned that it is custom here for women to continue wearing their gowns to other celebrations up to one year after their marriage -- at least they get a lot more use out of them than we do!

Christmas - American:
This year we celebrated Christmas with several other Peace Corps Volunteers by renting a house on a local ski hill near Tetovo. We had a great couple days and feasted on chili Christmas Eve and enchiladas Christmas Day. Unfortunately we weren't able to ski because the snow all melted due to the warm weather we've been experiencing lately, but we still enjoyed our holiday and the company of the other Volunteers.

** Stay tuned for an update of our coming festivities: **

• December 31: New Years
• January 6: Orthodox Christmas Eve (costume party like Halloween)
• January 7: Orthodox Christmas
• January 13 & 14: Old New Years - Vevchani Carnival
• January 18: Martin Luther King Day
• January 19: Vodici (Epiphany)