Vevcani ready for this year Carnival

The traditional masks of groom, bride and August the Fool will parade in Vevcani on January 13-14 at the carnival celebrating the departure of old and arrival of the new year according to the old calendar. 

The carnival honoring Saint Basil the Great is known for its archaic spirit and unique masks mixing pagan rituals and modern celebrations. The carnival takes place in the village of Vevcani, which is magically transformed into a theatre in its own right, free of borders, where every house, street is a stage for those behind the masks to perform their roles and play their games as true actors.

The event will unofficially kick off on January 12 with a concert that will include performances by musicians from Macedonia and neighboring countries.

The main parade will take place on January 13, where the old new year will be welcomed outdoors in the center of Vevcani. The next day, masks will be set on fire as a ritual.

Come to Vevcani to see how tradition and predecessors are being honored, Pero Ilieski - the mayor of Vevcani municipality - told a press conference on Friday.

The Vevcani carnival has been supported by the Ministry of Culture for the last three years. It is a great pleasure to be part of this event, Deputy Culture Minister Dragan Nedeljkovic said today.

For over 1,400 years the Vevcani Carnival has been an interesting mix of paganism and modernism. The main characteristics of the event are: archaism, secretiveness, and improvisation. Its particular features distinguish it from any other carnival worldwide.

During the carnival, the disguised participants enjoy every freedom and passion to 'place the world upside down' -- a freedom of spirit, creativity and a sense of improvisation, criticism, and sarcasm. Officially, women do not participate in the carnival -- they do disguise, but unlike men, do not take off their masks in the end.

In 1993, the Vevcani carnival, or more precisely, the municipality of Vevcani, joined FECC - the Federation of European Carnival Cities.

CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS IN MACEDONIA

Christmas is a holiday marking the birth of Jesus Christ. This day is the core of other religious holidays, because the birth of Christ heralded the beginning of a new era.

The Christmas celebration in Macedonia begins in the evening of January 5th, which is known as kolede. Children go from door to door singing Christmas carols, heralding the birth of Jesus, and receiving fruits, nuts and candy from the people. Later in the evening, the elderly people from the neighbourhood gather around a bonfire outside, and engage in a conversation about the past year and the year to come.

The following evening is the Christmas Eve, when a traditional oak log (badnik) is brought to the home. This log is cut by the father of the household and his older son, while the table is being set for the Christmas Eve supper (Posna Vechera). The dinner cannot have anything derived from animals, and it cannot be cooked using cooking oil or other types of fat. The traditional dinner usually consists of baked fish. The dinner is the last day of a traditional 40-day Orthodox Lent, which is done in a way to honor the Virgin Mary for carrying baby Jesus.

The oak log is cut into three pieces, representing the Holy Trinity, and each piece is brought into the house by the father. A member of the family receives a piece and places it on the fire. As this is done, the son and the father exchange a greeting: "Good evening and happy Christmas Eve" (Dobra Vecher i Vesel Badnik). While the log is being placed on the fire, the mother and the grandmother gather the children together into the room where the dinner is to be served. Each person carries a bundle of straw from outside, and together with the mother they spread the straw on the floor. The spreading of the straw on the house floor is meant to make the atmosphere more like that when the night Jesus was born. The house is decorated further decorated with oak and pine branches, representing the wish of the family for long and healthy life, "with health strong as oak, and with a life long as that of the oak."

Then the Christmas dinner is served on the same table that the Christmas candle is burning. As part of the dinner, homemade bread (pogacha) with a coin hidden in it (usually placed inside before it was baked) is served. The traditional belief is that whoever gets the coin in his/her piece, will have a particularly successful year to look forward to.

The Christmas candle is then lit, and everyone sings a Christmas hymn. Very early Christmas day, people attend the first morning church service. After the family returns from church, the first guests arrive. This is usually someone who is a dear friend of the family, and is especially honored during the celebration. The guests are met by the hosts, who kiss the guest three times on the cheeks and give him/her the Christmas greeting "Christ is born" (Hristos se rodi), and the guest replies "Indeed he is" (Voistinu Se Rodi).

These greetings are exchanged throughout the three days or Christmas. After the exchange or the greetings, the guest shakes the burning oak log and when the sparks fly up, he/she expresses his/her best wishes for the family. This is usually done in some form of rhyme, mentioning the Special desires of the family.

KOLEDE BONFIRES ANNOUNCE CHRISTMAS

Orthodox Christians in Macedonia will celebrate Sunday Christmas Eve (Badnik) - the day prior to great holiday the Birth of Jesus Christ – Christmas.

Badnik is traditionally celebrated before "St. Clement of Ohrid" church in Skopje where this year's Badnik godfather will be given the last year's Badnik Cup.

The event starts by hoisting Badnik flag and the Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC), the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia HH Stefan, will address the believers and give the last year’s Badnik Cup to the new godfather.

In Macedonia, celebrations began on 5 January, the evening known as "kolede", in which neighbourhoods gather together to light a bonfire, listen to traditional music and share food and drink.

This morning children visit their neighbourhood, knock at the doors and sing Kolede songs. The home-owners give the children candies, sweets, fruit and coins.

The family dinner on Badnik is the only holiday when you can find rich and poor gathered on one place. In the evening on Badnik, the closest family is gathering around the Badnik dinner.

The main event at this dinner is the cutting of the Christmas bread on pieces for each member of the family, one for the home and one for Jesus Christ. Inside the Christmas Bread there is a coin. There is a belief that who ever finds the coin in his/her piece of the bread will have luck the whole year. The coin is put in a glass of wine and the lucky person should drink from the wine.

The house is decorated with oak branches with their leaves on, representing the wish of the family for long and healthy life.

MOTORWAY SECTION KATLANOVO-VELES RECONSTRUCTED

The State Roads Agency will put into use Friday reconstructed section Katlanovo-Veles within motorway Alexander the Great.

The 16-month overhaul of the 27,5km-long section included investments of approximately EUR 7 million.

Construction company "Granit" completed the works.

The reconstructed 27km-long section Katlanovo-Veles, part of motorway Alexander the Great, was put into use on Friday.

The EUR 7,3 million investment is part of the Government project for infrastructure modernization in the country.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said section Katlanovo-Veles is one of the most frequent roads in Macedonia, reconstructed for the last time in 1985.

He announced that motorway section Veles-Skopje would be reconstructed in 2013, whereas the project on construction of highway Demir Kapija-Smokvica is ongoing.

"We will continue to build and allocate significant Budget funds for such capital projects", stressed PM Gruevski.

Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski stressed a project for overhaul of 13 bridges along Corridor 10 should be launched in 2013.

"European funds have been secured for rehabilitation of road Corridor 10 sections. Priority has been given to section Veles-Katlanovo, with reconstruction set to begin in the first half of 2013", added Janakieski.

Construction company "Granit" worked on section Katlanovo-Veles in the past 16 months.

FOG HINDERS AIRLINE TRAFFIC

Poor weather conditions hinder airline traffic, also slowing down railway and bus transport.

Several flights departing from Skopje-based airport "Alexander the Great" have been cancelled due to fog.

Traffic at motorways and regional roads is slow due to rainfalls and snowfalls in the morning.

Heavy vehicles are banned at Gostivar-Kicevo road section through Straza mountain slope due to show.

Bus and railway traffic is ongoing with delays.

Bitola coldest city with -19

Bitola, Tetovo and Berovo Thursday morning are the coldest cities in Macedonia. The temperature measured at 7a.m. in Bitola has been -19C and -17C in Tetovo and Berovo.

In Skopje the measured temperatures early Thursday have been -16C, -12C in Kriva Palanka, Stip, Prilep, Kumanovo and Mavrovo, -11C in Strumica and Krusevo, -10C in Demir Kapija and Debar, -9C in Ohrid, Vinica and Kavadarci, -6C in Pretor, -3C in Dojran and -2C in Gevgelija.

Hydrometeorological Service reports that arctic temperatures will remain all day long.

Skopje gets Xmas decorations

HEAVY VEHICLES BANNED AT SEVERAL ROAD SECTIONS

Ban for heavy vehicles has been introduced early Wednesday at road sections Mavrovo-Debar, Gostivar-Kicevo, Debar-Struga, and mountain saddles Straza and Gjavato due to snow.

Flow of traffic on other motorways and regional roads is normal without any prohibition or restriction for all types of motor vehicles on wet lanes. There are snowfalls at mountain saddles Straza, Mavrovo, Preseka, Bukovo and Gjavato.

There are no delays in railway and airline traffic.

Top officials congratulate St.Kliment Ohridski holiday

Saint Clement of Ohrid.

"The holiday dedicated to St.Kliment Ohridski, founder of the Ohrid Archbishopric, founder of the first Slavic university, and generator of Slavic literacy and culture, is an event exceeding national boundaries, having enormous significance for European culture and civilization. The vision of St.Kliment and his teachers, the holy Ss.Kiril and Metodij (Ss.Cyril and Methodius) over bringing nations together and building a prosperous, free and humane world is placed in the foundations of human civilization", reads the note.

According to him, the work of St.Kliment should be a guiding principle ahead of new challenges, giving us spiritual strength and wisdom to come out stronger and more noble.

Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski also sent greetings, saying the holiday marked St.Kliment's work.

"St.Kliment created and Ohrid Archbishopric and the Cyrillic letter, which represent an invaluable gift to the Macedonian national and church history, but his work also continued in other parts of the world, where he has left deep traces", says Veljanoski.

He urged for the holiday to represent an incentive for mutual understanding, mutual respect and assistance.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski congratulated the holiday, saying St. Kliment Ohridski is one of the greatest scholars in the history of Macedonia's church and nation.

"His work as scholar, writer, enlightener and bishop set the foundations of our spiritual education and culture, and of our holy Macedonian Orthodox Church - the Ohrid Archbishopric," Gruevski says in his note.

Our obligation, he adds, is to continue on the road he had set and by hard, dedicated work to meet the needs of citizens by advancing the education and culture, guided by and applying the system of values.

Skopje from the Bird's eye view