During this holiday season, a lucky member of each Macedonian family has the opportunity to be blessed with health, good fortune and happiness on Badnik (Christmas Eve). How? If you are the one to acquire the coin hidden in a piece of homemade bread given to you at dinner, then you will receive many benefits in the New Year. And if you are a male married during the previous year, you are afforded a SECOND chance to win such blessings. It happens on Voditci.
Voditci is the day commemorating the baptism of Jesus. In the Orthodox Christian community, there is a tradition whereby the local priest, after a short ritual ceremony, tosses a cross into a lake, river or whatever body of water is available. Recently (within the last year) married males from the village or town compete to retrieve it. This is the strict tradition in Zletevo but in many communities now, any adult male willing to confront the frigid waters, can participate.
The previous two years I attended Voditci in Probistip where the event is conducted at the town swimming pool because there is no lake or river in the Probe (see my blogs from January 2009 and 2010). This year along with David and our good friend Clavche, I went to the nearby, (15 minute taxi ride) town of Zletevo where they have a river. At 6AM we set out and were among the first to arrive at the site on the Zletevo River where the ceremony would take place. The only ones there before us were the individuals warming the rakija and tea and the individuals setting up the sound system. This gave us the opportunity to get the best spot to take photos.
Traditionally, men from the community contribute to the rakija pot and so there is plenty of the stuff to go around and it’s free. So in order to meld into the community as envisioned by the Peace Corps, at 6:45 AM I had my first rakija of the day solely to be “one of the guys” (AKA “peer pressure”). In 64 years I had never had a 104 proof alcohol so early in the day but its warmth and sweetness was comforting on a cold winter morning. Plus the men in the town were pleased to see that I was participating in one of their beloved traditions.
We were told that the ceremony would start about 7AM, so IAW Macedonian convention, people started to arrive at 7:15 and the ceremony began at 8:15. Time is an approximation, not an exactitude, here in this wonderful country. But since my fingers were pretty numb from the cold, I was glad when the priest and his entourage finally arrived. After a brief liturgy under the gazebo, the pope (the Macedonian word for priest is “pope”) and the men from Zletevo who had been married the previous year, participated in the traditional throwing and retrieving of the cross (check out my photos).
During the event when I was changing lenses on my camera, a lens cover flew off and landed on some rocks at the edge of the water. It would have been very difficult, if not impossible to recover it, so I kind of wrote it off. But the many Zletvoians who witnessed it, were deeply concerned about the situation. Remember that David and I were visitors in the community and stood out from everyone else. People were always looking at us out of curiosity, but in a very friendly way. And so it was important to them to retrieve the lens cover for their guest and they did so when one of the non-recently married swimmers climbed up onto the rocks to retrieve the lens cover. Everyone nearby was sincerely relieved that I it was returned to me.
When the ceremony was over and after my third to-be-sociable-rakija (and to prove my American manhood to the Macedonian men), we headed back to the center where we would search for a taxi to take us back to Probistip. However, on the road back, Stojche, one of the gentlemen we had been talking with, invited us into his home for a “na goste” (a visit). This always sems to happen here in the smaller towns and villages. People invite strangers into their home for food, drink and conversation. We went.
Two and one-half hours later, 5 more shots of homemade rakija, salad, coffee, lots of laughs and a sharing of life’s experiences with Stojche and his wonderful wife, the three of us headed back to Probistip. Cab fare was 160 denari ($2.50) split three ways. I appreciated the fact that I wasn’t the driver and not in the position of having to prove to my Macedonian friends that I was capable of driving after consuming an inordinate amount of alcohol.
When I returned home I needed to get some shut-eye. The rakija had taken its toll. I grabbed a blanket and headed out to my chair on my balcony. It was a somewhat mild winter day and it was sunny. As I lay ensconced on the recliner, I briefly reflected on my wonderful 8 rakija-day among the wonderful people of Zletevo before I fell asleep (passed out) for the next well-deserved two and half hours. This gave my liver a chance to do whatever God intended it to do. I was pleased knowing that I survived the binge and that the men of Zletevo appreciated my participation in their tradition and rewarded with an A+ (when it comes to drinking their National beverage). All in all, a challenging day’s work as a PCV.
I’m now looking forward to a couple of alcohol-free months. And, I believe, so is my liver.
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