January is a month filled with holidays here in Macedonia and so far there has been at least one every week. The first holiday is Orthodox Christmas which is celebrated on January 7Th and followed a week later by "Old New Year".
For the traditional Christmas, I returned to Romanovce for a visit with the Angelovskis, my host family. It was great to see them again and spend time in their home.(and have some good home cooked food again) On Christmas Eve their tradition is to eat while seated on the floor. There are blessings and thanks for the food, the animals, the crops and the people which is followed by a meat and dairy free meal. To begin the meal, there is a traditional sharing of bread with each person taking a piece and one dedicated to God. One section contains a gold coin that is a sign of good fortune for the upcoming year for the person who gets it. This year, the coin was in the piece designated to “God”. Very nice old traditions and I was happy that the family had invited me to participate. I returned the next day for a grand meal ...meat and dairy now included. When it was time to leave I was presented with homemade wine, bread, candy, stuffed cabbage, etc. I am told this is just traditional and will happen whenever I visit. I must visit more often!!!
There is another interesting holiday in January on the 19Th, celebrating the baptism of Jesus. In my city, the event is marked by an event at the river that runs through the center of town. A temporary dam is constructed interrupting the flow so that the culvert fills to the edge of the river banks. What takes place at ten in the morning here is the "throwing of the cross." It appeared that just about every resident of the city was [present lining the shores of the river. As several of the orthodox “popes” arrive in a procession from the church there is music, most likely Orthodox hymns, playing over the loudspeaker system set up at a podium on one of the many bridges across the river. Following a short ceremony of prayers and blessings and reading of many names, a small wooden cross is tossed into the river. The young men lining the river bank then dive or jump into the icy river in a frantic effort to retrieve the crucifix. (see the photos). The lucky man to get the cross is not only purported to be blessed with good fortune for the entire year, there are other motivating factors as well. He (yes, only males participated) also received a television, and gold necklace from the mayor, and an undetermined amount of cash. He and his friends then take the cross and blessed water through the crowd that has gathered at the center. Each person is offered an opportunity to kiss the cross, gets sprinkled with the water and they then make an offering. The young man gets to keep the "offering" also. I would say it is a very bountiful day for the successful retriever.
This past week I helped out with the recording of a CD that will be used in English language lessons for security students at a university in Skopje. Six of us participated and it was actually a lot of fun. My voice will remain here long after I am gone!!! The big bonus that went along with this trip to the capital was that I was able to go to the UPS office and retrieve a package . I had ordered a Kindle in December and it was finally here in the country. The issue was that UPS could not find me in Kocani after repeated efforts. I did manage to find them with the help of a volunteer living in Skopje and retrieved the package. I now have absolutely no excuses if I don’t read a lot of books while here.
I have my first meeting with my “students” next week as my work will finally begin. There are currently 25 or so employees of the municipality signed up for my English language classes. The first task will be to determine how to divide this group into three smaller classes of somewhat comparable language skills. I have devised a test that I hope will do just that.
I am looking forward to starting the lessons even though teaching is entirely new to me. Fortunately, I have grown very comfortable in front of groups in my old age and will at the very least have some fun doing this. I have also been asked to participate in the English language classes the will be offered to the general public. The teachers from the local schools will be in charge of this and I will simply contribute whatever they request. These “jobs” are both later in the day or evening so it appears I am to be employed on the "second shift"! Anyway, I look forward to being “busy”
