Written by: Milica Bokšan
One of our students asked us recently: ‘Is there Mother’s Day in Serbia?’ We love to talk about Serbian culture, so we decided to cover this topic and write a blog post!
Mother’s Day, as its name suggests, is a holiday honoring all mothers of the world.
It is celebrated in different parts of the world, but not always on the same date. In most countries, Mother’s Day is celebrated in spring, in March or May.
But do Serbs celebrate Mother’s Day?
Yes, we do! In Serbia Mother’s Day is followed by two other holidays.
Keep reading and soon, you will find out more about Serbian family holidays!
Do Serbs celebrate Mother’s Day?
It’s probably unnecessary to say that a mother is one of the most important figures in every person’s life. Therefore it is not surprising that Mother’s Day is celebrated in many countries.
And here, in Serbia, we love holidays!
At the end of the calendar year, many holidays are celebrated in Serbia.
You have probably already heard about the Serbian slava. Many slavas are celebrated in winter. Besides slava there are, of course, New Year’s Eve and the most important Christian holiday – Božić (= Christmas).
Serbs welcome the New Year on December 31, followed by Badnje veče (= Christmas Eve) and Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7.
Mother’s Day in Serbia also takes place during this festive period.
To be more specific, it is celebrated on the second Sunday before Christmas, and in Serbia, it is called Materice.
Materice is the greatest Christian holiday of all mothers and women.
How do Serbs celebrate Mother’s Day in Serbia?
The way of celebrating Materice is very interesting.
Early in the morning or the evening before the holiday, children prepare ropes, shoelaces, or some other string.
When mom sits on the chair, they quickly tie her legs so she can’t get up.
Moms mostly pretend to be surprised which is actually part of this family game.
For the children to untie the string, the mom has to give them presents. These are usually some small cute gifts.
Besides mothers, all married women are tied in the same way. So, they also have to prepare gifts, cakes, or some other sweets for children.
Today Materice is also celebrated in Serbian temples, especially temples located in cities.
The pious women prepare a program where children sing suitable recitations and then tie up the older women. To redeem themselves they give gifts to children.
Materice was celebrated in royal castles, too.
Source: Wikipedia
The tradition of giving sweets to children started back in the 19th century. Back then, children were given paper cones with homemade sweets like radishes and fruits such as figs and dates. Years later they start giving toys and other small things.
Other Serbian Family Holidays: Detinjci and Očevi
In the weeks before Christmas, both Children’s Day and Father’s Day are celebrated in Serbia. Mother’s Day in Serbia is celebrated along with Father’s Day and Children’s Day which symbolizes family. All three family holidays take place on consecutive Sundays in December.
Children’s Day in Serbia is called Detinjci and it is the first of these three holidays.
Detinjci is celebrated the third week before Christmas, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second week before Christmas, and Father’s Day is celebrated one week before Christmas.
Detinjci is celebrated in the same way as Materice, but now parents tie up the children.
A few days before, the parents “threaten” the children that they will tie them up and that the children must prepare a “ransom”.
Sometimes parents tie up their children while they are still in bed and thus surprise them. If the children visit other family members that day, they can tie them up as well.
This practice is similar to Materice when children do not only tie up mothers but also other women in the family, for example, grandmothers and aunts.
Father’s Day is called Očevi in Serbian and it is the last in this series of holidays before Christmas.
Očevi is celebrated in the same way as the previous two holidays. Now fathers are in the main role, and they are tied up by children.
Apparently, in earlier times, fathers tried to hide ropes and cords to avoid tying or making it difficult. It was up to the children to find the strings anyway.
According to the traditional sense, it was not appropriate for the head of the family to be tied down for a long time. However, when the children succeeded in tying up their father, he would pretend to be angry and give them gifts to free him as soon as possible.
The Importance of These Holidays
All three holidays belong to those joyful Christian holidays where the most valued thing is the time spent with family.
If family nurtures these holidays, both children and adults, have the opportunity to create fond memories for a lifetime!
Detinjci, Materice, and Očevi symbolize strong family ties, peace, and harmony. The essence of these holidays is the family gatherings.
Family holidays are also important for the children themselves because they equally participate in the rituals. In this way, family equality and harmony are encouraged.
Is International Women’s Day another Mother’s Day in Serbia?
Osmi mart (= 8th March) or International Women’s Day is a holiday dedicated to women including mothers, but it doesn’t represent another Mother’s Day in Serbia.
It is a holiday that celebrates all women in the world no matter if they are daughters, wives, sisters, mothers, grandmas, or aunts.
On this day, women usually receive flowers and sweets, like pralines. Typically, husbands and children buy flowers for the mother, or brothers for their sisters. Male colleagues also buy flowers for female colleagues at work. In schools, children buy flowers for their female teachers.
Believe it or not, this is probably the holiday when the most flowers are bought in Serbia, not Valentine’s Day!
Conclusion
Being a mother is a gift in and of itself. Of course, every person loves being appreciated and mothers deserve their own holiday.
We must admit that Mother’s Day should be every day, not just the one determined by the rules of a state or some trends.
If you’re coming to Serbia this winter, and you have relatives over here, now you know how to take part in these Serbian customs.
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