New Year
Description:
Linking the main milestones of the traditional calendar to Christian saints somewhat confused their chronological places and made these milestones approximate. “Midwinter Day” should be on the winter solstice. This is clear from the sayings that are now common among the people; on the day of midwinter, mountaineers from the vicinity of Shkodra say: “The sun leads the summer”; “The sun makes a turn”, say the inhabitants of Luma; “It begins to grow at the speed with which the cock moves from the beam to the beam”, – noted in Shkodra. Although mid-winter day merged with the Christian holiday of Christmas, in essence it has little in common with the Christian religion and contains features of very ancient folk religious ideas.
Muslims who celebrate this day rethink it in their own way. The Muslims of Shkodra, for example, called it “Day of measured snow”. Instead of lighting a candle, they put a piece of wax in the fire. Midwinter day in different parts of Northern Albania was called in different ways: in Luma "Midwinter" (Mjedis i dimnit), in Mirdita "Christmas Night" (Nate kendellja), in Shalia, Nikai and Msrturi "Night of Buzmi" (Nata e Buzmit). Long before the holiday in the forest looked for a large tree with a thick non-tooth trunk, cut it down, but not brought into the house, and left it in front of the house, placed in a stable or hidden in the forest. On the night of December 25, on Christmas Eve, the whole family gathered by the fire; they sent one of the family - a strong and agile man - to bring "buzmi". The appearance of the log was greeted with greetings: Ro vjen buzmi bujar Me gjeth e me bar, Me edha (keca) e shqerra, Mbas tyne vjen veral.
With leaves and grass, with goats and lambs, and after them comes summer.
Mire se vjen me dhen e me dhi, me lope e me mashkuj, me bere bereqet dhe me te gjith tc miral.
Welcome to the sheep and the goats, to the cows, to the male children, to the bread and all the good.
The pole was solemnly lit. Sometimes in the flame of the hearth laid branches of the cherry tree, vine, branches of the nut tree, that is, those plants that are especially revered as symbols of fertility. In the vicinity of Pec and Djakovica, 15 oak logs were laid star-like on the hearth, the largest of them was called “Buzmi”. It was believed that in the fire should burn all misfortunes. Sometimes juniper branches were thrown into it, and when they burst out with a bang, all those present exclaimed: “Let our enemies and all who do not wish us well burn up!” The urban population of Prizren and Djakovica laid in the fireplace not a special log, but just two pairs of logs cross-cross. At the four corners of the room, four lit candles were strengthened. Peasants kept in the house head from the Christmas log or half-burnt branches of the cherry tree. The townspeople also adhered to traditions: according to the appearance of the lights that burned on Christmas Eve, they make a conclusion about what awaits them for the next year.