Customs in Bosnia

by: Dragan Lalovic

Bosnia, the magic word for a lot of people who are born there and for many of them who are not.  Why, that small piece of land at the border of East and West, between three major religions (Islam, Orthodox, and Catholic) has history full of love and hate, war and  peace, harmony and chaos all at the same time?  I don’t know.  Maybe somebody will find the answers one day or maybe not.  I left Bosnia less than six years ago, but the pictures, way of living and believing are still strong as they were before and I know they will be for the next thousands of years.  I like to keep them alive in the memories of the next generations.

That’s why, this time I decided to write about the customs of Christmas of the Serbian people.  I hope somebody will also write about the customs of Bajram, the biggest Muslim celebration, or about how Catholics celebrate Christmas in Bosnia.

Christmas is preceded by three weeks of dedication to the family.  The first Sunday of these three weeks is the Day of the Child, or Detinjci.  This is followed by Mother’s Day, or Materice.  The third Sunday, Ocevi is dedicated to the Father. 

On each of these Sundays the custom of “Ransom” is observed.  The ransomed ones are tied to some object and must pay a certain fee in order to regain their freedom.  First the children are ransomed to the parents, then the mother to the children, and then the father to the rest of the family.  This way each member of the family in turn becomes ransomer and ransomee.  This custom emphasizes and strengthens the close ties among family members in love and responsibility.

Other Christmas customs include: Tucindan – Two days before Christmas a young pig is usually prepared for barbecue the next day, one that will serve as the main dish for the Christmas meal.  Badnji dan – On the day before Christmas a Yule log is secured and the ‘pecenica’ is cooked.  The family gathers for a meal at Christmas Eve, which of course is Lenten.  The meal is preceded by prayer led by the father.  Straw is spread around and gifts are exchanged.  Cesnica – Early on Christmas Day, while most of the family members attend Church service, the Mother stays at home to prepare the meal.  One of her many tasks that day is to prepare the Cesnica, a special bread in which a coin is placed.  Whoever finds the coin in his/her piece of Cesnica wil have good fortune all through the coming year.  Polozajnik – This is the person who happens to be the first visitor to the home on Christmas Day.  A special gift is prepared for this person; it is given along with a piece of Cesnica.  The ‘Polozajnik’’ does not have to be a person of the orthodox faith or a person you may already know.

This custom has another important meaning, namely, to remind us that we are just travelers or sojourners in this world.  Just as there are travelers and sojourners away from their homes in other countries throughout the world, so we too may be found destitute and in need of help.  This is a beautiful custom which has been practiced by the Serbian – Orthodox people from its ancestry until today.  It depicts the concrete reality of our life in this world,  but above all the ‘Polozajnik’ symbolizes Christ and his coming into the world.

When I am thinking about Bosnia, the most beautiful thing is that on so small an area you can find a whole spectrum of different customs and they have influence on each other so this is maybe the only place where you can find some customs which are different than the other places in the world.  Now I am living in the United States and I know that our next generation will feel more American than Bosnian but it’s worth a try to keep some customs from our country so that one day they can tell stories to their kids about one country between East and West named Bosnia.

Multicultural Coalition Building

 Compiled by: ISC  

The need to become more effective in a time of increasing special interest groups and decreasing resources has led many of us to recognize the potential usefulness of coalition building.  But no matter how well-intentioned we are, we need to be trained in coalition building if we are to succeed in leading our own people through the difficult task of harmonizing individual group interests with large universal concerns.  We need to have a workable set of principles so that we may build coalitions that will function effectively. 

Building a multicultural coalition is an art that calls for distinctive attitudes and skills, which includes patience, flexibility and group sensitivity.  Above all, it requires individuals and groups to overcome their feelings of separateness and to join forces with others in a spirit of mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual support.  It is important to realize that individuals and organizations can share common concerns, even if for different reasons, and it is important to encourage groups to think of goals that unite them despite the factors which may divide them.  Groups join coalitions for different reasons: a commitment to a particular cause, the opportunity to have contacts with other organizations, or the sense of enhanced credibility they gain from their association with others.  A coalition should be made up of groups chosen by the organizing forces and not just by well-meaning observers. 

While organizations are made up of individuals, coalitions are made up of organizations, many of which have had only limited contact with each other in the past.  Inadequate understanding of ethnic, religious and class differences hinders multicultural coalition work.  Coalition leaders should arrange forums for each group to talk about its history, customs, and traditions as well as past struggles and present concerns.  By exposing groups to each other, these forums are effective in alleviating intergroup conflicts.  Each group will make a unique contribution when its strengths are taken seriously and its weaknesses are corrected.  The positive contributions of groups to coalitions should be welcomed and the divisive attempts of any faction should be constructively challenged, with the intent of instilling cooperation.

Successful multicultural coalitions are based on a history of organizational leaderships, personal relationships, and collaborative efforts with each other.  For us, the most rewarding aspect of multicultural coalition work is learning about the traditions, cultures, and concerns of others.  We believe that multicultural coalition building provides opportunities for deep and lasting relationships with individuals from many diverse backgrounds. Personal relationships conceived by sincere friendship and nurtured by mutual loyalty, are the cement in building trust and cooperation.  It is trust and cooperation that perpetuates a coalition’s success.

A Tale From The Serene Land

Contributed by: Hoang Lan

Under normal conditions, whenever a person, for one reason or another, has to leave his homeland to seek refuge in a foreign country, the most dreadful question he has to address is: “Should I go, or should I stay?” He has to weigh both sides of that agonizing dilemma before making a definite and irreversible decision.  Many years ago, caught in the turmoil of political upheavals in Vietnam, I was confronted with the same dilemma.  It took me two years before I could make the irrevocable decision to leave my native country.  During those two years of indecision, my final departure was postponed many times because of an obsession I had developed by reading the following anecdote from the famous Chinese classic: Tales of Three Nations.

“Meng Shang Chun was well known throughout the State of Chi for his extreme generosity.  Oftentimes, hundreds of guests were lavishly entertained in his house.  One day, however, Meng felt so frustrated with the politics of his own State—which was in virtual decline—that he decided to emigrate to the State of Chin.

At the news of Meng’s impending departure for Chin, thousands of his friends came and implored him to stay, but Meng persisted in his decision and did not want to listen to anyone’s advice.

Sou Chin, Meng’s best friend, was the last to come, but Meng gave him a serious warning as soon as he entered the house: ‘I greatly appreciate your coming to bid me farewell.  As we meet each other, perhaps for the last time, I am ready to listen to any wisdom you may want to share with me; but please, do not waste your time in trying to persuade me to stay.  I will definitely leave and my decision is irrevocable.’

Sou Chin calmly replied: ‘I do not have any wisdom to share and I do not intend to persuade you to do anything.  I come today simply because I want to tell you about a most extraordinary event which I personally witnessed last night.  If you do not want to hear about it, I will go and tell someone else.’  Highly interested in what Sou Chin termed as a ‘most extraordinary event,’ Meng immediately agreed to listen.  Then, slowly, Sou Chin began his narration:

‘I was traveling last night and caught in a thunderstorm, I had to take refuge in a pagoda on the left bank of the Che River.  As I was standing next to the altar, I heard two Buddha statues talking to each other.  Judging from their shapes, I recognized that one Buddha was made of wood and the other was made of clay.  The wooden Buddha told his earthen companion: ‘With these heavy rains there will be a big flood.  The water of the Che River will rise higher than your head and mine.  As I am made of wood, I will float and no serious damage will be done to my body.  But since you are made of clay, I am afraid that you will be completely dissolved.’

The earthen Buddha replied: ‘I am made of clay collected from this area.  From clay, I will return to clay and stay here forever.  You are carved out of a piece of wood taken from the nearby forest.  As you float, the current will carry you to an unknown destination.  One thing is, however, certain:  you will never have a chance to return to this place where Heaven, Earth, and Man have combined their efforts into making you as a Buddha.’ The earthen Buddha had not yet completed his sentence when the wooden Buddha started sobbing.’

Meng sobbed too, and after sobbing, he ordered his servants to undo his luggage.”  

Refugee Services Update

In an effort to make our refugee programs more culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate to the growing refugee populations, the International Service Center (ISC), in partnership with the Lutheran Children and Family Service and Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, is offering the following services to all refugees and former refugees currently residing in Central Pennsylvania.

A) TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATION SERVICES

1. Sight translation of letter,s forms and notices sent by government agencies, legal services, and educational/health institutions.

 2. On-site interpretation to help Limited-English-Proficient refugees interact with mainstream service providers at government offices, schools, worksites as well as other medical and legal settings.

B) COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES

 1. Support necessary to enroll eligible refugees in government-funded programs for low-income families such  as Public Housing Assitance, Children Health Insurance Program, Head Start, Women, Infants & Children Program, Food Stamps, LIHEAP, Aging Programs, Earned Income Credit Tax, and other government-funded programs.

 2. Direct outreach services including: explaining relevant government-funded programs, conducting intake to determine eligibility for specific programs, referring refugees to appropriate sources of support, calling agencies to set-up appointments for refugees, helping refugees fill-out application or enrollment forms, accompanying refugees to agencies to serve as interpreters during interviews, conducting follow-ups after refugees are enrolled in the program(s).

All those services are free, and are offered on a “first come, first serve basis” based on the availability of our multilingual staff and consultants.

If you feel that any refugees or former refugees you know could benefit of our Translation & Interpretation or Outreach services, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Mikhail Kevorkov at (717)230-8741.

Top