Catholic Christmas Eve

We need to finish decorating the festive tree.Christmas Eve in Croatia, as in Serbia, is called “Badni Dan” or “Badnyak”. The central event of this day - the log house of Badnyak - common for both countries, but in Croatia adopted a different etymology and holiday, and the concept itself. Here it is believed that the word comes from the Slavic verb "bdeti" - "bdeti", i.e. expect the onset of Christmas.

On this day, all family members are busy: get up early, clean up, prepare badnyak (oak log) or at least oak branches. The decoration of the Christmas tree in Croatia came from Austria in the early XIX century.

It is necessary to pay back debts to Badnyak, and to complete all business by the evening. Dinner on this day is usually solemn, and in its course you need to finish decorating the tree, putting nursery, apples, nuts, wheat under it.