Savindan: Guide to the Feast of Saint Sava of Serbia

Introduction

Few names in Serbian history carry the weight and love that the name of Saint Sava does. Founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church, archbishop, monk, and writer — Saint Sava of Serbia is to the Serbian people what Saint Patrick is to the Irish, or Saints Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs. On January 27, Savindan, Serbia pays tribute to this great man in a twofold manner: as a church feast celebrated by families whose patron saint is Sava, and as a school day observed in every Serbian school.

This guide is intended for families who celebrate Savindan, but also for all who wish to better understand what this day means — for the Church, and for Serbian culture and identity. We will walk through the life of Saint Sava, the liturgical side of the feast, the preparation of the table and feast rites, and the special dimension of Savindan as the day of Serbian schooling.

When It Is Celebrated

Savindan is celebrated on January 27 by the Gregorian (New) Calendar. In the church calendar following the Julian system, this is January 14 (Old Calendar). In fact, in church tradition there are two commemorations of Sava: January 14 (the translation of his relics) and January 12 (the death of Saint Sava), but in folk and school tradition Savindan is always January 27 by the New Calendar.

Savindan falls outside any fasting period: the Nativity Fast ended on Christmas Eve (January 6), Theophany is on January 19, and Savindan is on January 27. The feast table may be entirely non-fasting. The only exception is if January 27 falls on a Wednesday or Friday — then Orthodox Christians observe the weekly fast, and the celebration at home might be adapted accordingly.

History and Tradition

Saint Sava (Rastko Nemanjić) was born around 1175 as the youngest son of the Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja and Princess Ana. He grew up at court, educated in the spirit of Christianity and Serbian tradition, but from his youth was drawn to the monastic calling. At seventeen, with the help of a monk passing through Serbia, he secretly left the court and went to Mount Athos — the centre of Orthodox monasticism.

On Athos he lived as a monk, first in the monastery of Vatopedi, and then together with his father (who had taken monastic vows under the name Simeon Nemanja) he restored the monastery of Hilandar — which to this day remains the most important Serbian spiritual fortress on the Holy Mountain and the living heritage of the Serbian people.

After Nemanja’s death, Sava returned to Serbia several times, bringing the relics of his father and organising the church life. His final return and his greatest work came in 1219, when in Nicaea he received from the Patriarch of Constantinople the autocephaly — the independence of the Serbian Orthodox Church — and was himself elected as the first Serbian Archbishop. Sava then went on a visitation of Serbia, appointing bishops, regulating monasteries, establishing church laws, and writing the first Serbian legislative collection, the Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo).

Saint Sava died far from his homeland, in Tarnovo (Bulgaria), on January 14, 1236, on his return from a pilgrimage to the East. His relics were transferred to the Monastery of Mileševa, where they were kept until the Turkish vizier Sinan-Pasha burned them in 1594. Despite this, the veneration of Saint Sava was never extinguished — on the contrary, it remained alive and undiminished among the people to this day.

The Feast Table — What to Prepare

Savindan is a non-fasting feast, so the feast table may be rich and varied. Nevertheless, regardless of the non-fasting character, certain dishes are almost obligatory on the Savindan table.

Obligatory feast elements:

• Slavski kolač — freshly baked, decorated with Orthodox symbols. Taken to the church for a blessing or blessed at home with the priest.
• Žito (koliva) — boiled wheat with walnuts and sugar. A symbol of resurrection and immortality.
• Slavska sveća and tamjan — the feast candle and incense, burning throughout the celebration.

Typical Savindan feast table:

Since the feast falls in the winter months, the Savindan table is warm and generous. Most commonly prepared is chicken or beef soup as a starter, sarma (braised in soured cabbage with pork, slow-cooked) as the main dish. Many hostesses also prepare fasting sarma alongside the non-fasting — because some guests may be keeping a personal fast. Prebranac (baked beans with onion) almost never goes missing — it is a dish that pairs beautifully with both a non-fasting and a fasting spread. In winter, stuffed peppers (if preserved from the autumn), gibanica, or burek are also valued.

For dessert, krempita (custard slice), šampita (meringue cake), or tufahije (stuffed poached apples) are most commonly prepared — winter desserts that are welcoming and festive.

The Feast Liturgy and Rites

The liturgical side of Savindan is the same as for any patron feast. In the morning on the day of the feast, or the evening before, the host takes to the church the slavski kolač, žito, wine, and a lit small candle. The priest in the church or in the family home performs the blessing of the kolač, reads a prayer to Saint Sava, and conducts a litany for the family.

Breaking of the bread: the host and the priest (or the eldest male guest) hold the bread together, turn it three times clockwise with the singing of “Hristos voskrese” (“Christ is risen”), and then break it into four pieces and distribute it to those gathered. This is the central rite of every feast.

Special character of Savindan: on this day, beyond the general church celebration, many families sing “Uskliknimo ljubavlju” (“Let us exclaim with love”) — the hymn to Saint Sava, which is also the hymn of Serbian enlightenment. In some families, children recite short verses dedicated to Sava, which gives the feast a special educational character.

Preparing the Feast — Step by Step

One week ahead:

• Order or purchase all provisions (meat for the sarma, flour for the kolač, wheat for the žito)
• Arrange with the priest the blessing — at the church or in the home
• Notify guests of the lunch time

Three days ahead:

• Soak the wheat for the žito (12 hours of soaking, then 2–3 hours of cooking)
• Set aside the meat for the sarma if making home-prepared
• Prepare the feast corner: icon of Saint Sava, candleholder, tablecloth

The day before:

• Bake the slavski kolač
• Finish the žito (cooking, milling, decorating)
• Cook the soup (better the next day, after it has rested)
• Clean and tidy the house

On the day of the feast:

• Morning: church or welcoming the priest
• Blessing of the bread and litany
• Breaking of the bread with the host and guests
• Lunch from noon onwards

Greeting and Visiting

The host is greeted with: “Sreć’na ti slava!” or “Srećan Savindan!” In a school context, children and teachers are greeted: “Srećan Savindan — praznik znanja i vere!” (“Happy Savindan — the feast of knowledge and faith!”) The host responds: “I tebi hvala, i tebi daj Bog!”

Guests at Savindan may be particularly varied — family, friends, and neighbours whose children may have met at the school Savindan celebration. Since it falls in January, when the days are short and cold, Savindan is ideal for a long visit over warm soup, sarma, and homemade rakija.

Savindan is also an occasion for the family to speak about Saint Sava — about who he was, what he did for Serbia, and why both children at school and elders in church remember him equally. It is a feast in which spirituality and enlightenment go hand in hand — a celebration of Serbian identity in its deepest, most beautiful form.

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Holy Father Sava, pray to God for us!