Spasovdan: Guide to the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

Introduction

Spasovdan — the feast of the Ascension of the Lord — is one of the twelve great church feasts by which the Orthodox Church marks the key moments of the salvation of the human race. On the fortieth day after Pascha, always on a Thursday, church communities in Serbia and throughout the Orthodox world celebrate the bodily Ascension of Christ to heaven — the event the apostles witnessed on the Mount of Olives, which closes the earthly portion of Christ’s mission. What makes Spasovdan especially distinctive in Serbian folk life is that some families, particularly in Šumadija and central Serbia, celebrate this feast as their patron feast. Such families on that day break the slavski kolač, receive guests, and perform all the rites that characterize the Serbian patron feast — but combined with what is typical only for Spasovdan: processions through the fields and a spring celebration outdoors, under the flowering May sky.

When It Is Celebrated

Spasovdan is a moveable feast because it is tied to Pascha, which itself falls on a different date each year. According to the rule, Spasovdan falls exactly 39 days after Pascha, that is, on the fortieth day — always on a Thursday. The name of the feast comes from the word “Spas” (Saviour), so Spasovdan is literally “the day of the Saviour.”

Several examples:

• 2024: Spasovdan on May 9
• 2025: Spasovdan on May 29
• 2026: Spasovdan on May 14

Since it always falls on a Thursday — otherwise a fasting day in the Orthodox calendar — Spasovdan overrides it. This is one of the rare cases where a church feast “cancels” the regular fast. The celebration is non-fasting, joyful, and without any fasting restrictions.

History and Tradition

The Ascension of Christ is described in two places in the New Testament — near the end of the Gospel of Luke and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. Both texts were written by the same author, Luke, a physician and companion of the Apostle Paul.

According to the Acts of the Apostles (1:3–11), the risen Christ appeared to the apostles many times during the forty-day period after Pascha, spoke with them, ate with them, showed them the wounds in his hands and side, and “spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” On the fortieth day, on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, Christ gave the apostles their final command — to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit — and then was taken up before their eyes. A cloud received him and “took him out of their sight.” While they stood looking into the sky, there appeared “two men in white garments” (angels) who said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

This scene is theologically rich: Christ departs bodily, but promises the Holy Spirit who will come in ten days (at Pentecost). The Ascension is not the end of Christ’s presence — it is a change in the form of that presence. The Christ who “ascended” is now “omnipresent” in the Holy Spirit and in the Church.

Theologically, the Ascension has several dimensions. First: the glorification of Christ’s human nature. Christ took to heaven not only God, but also man — the only bodily nature that has entered the heavenly realm. Second: Christ “sits at the right hand of the Father” — which in biblical language means active governance, not passive sitting. Third: the Ascension opens the way for the apostles to become witnesses of the Resurrection and Ascension, and sends them into the world.

How did Spasovdan become a patron feast? In Serbian culture, the patron feast is chosen according to the saint present at the ancestor’s baptism, but also according to great church feasts that were especially venerated in a family or village. Over the centuries, some Serbian families — especially in Šumadija, the Rudnik region, Levaač, and Temnić — took Spasovdan (the Ascension) as their slava. The same thing happened with Pentecost (Holy Trinity Sunday), the Transfiguration, and Theophany. These “feast-day celebrants” have a slava tied to the church calendar itself, not to a specific saint, which makes them an interesting phenomenon of Serbian religious culture.

The Feast Table — What to Prepare

Spasovdan is a non-fasting feast falling in May — one of the most beautiful months for a celebration in Serbia. Spring ingredients are in full season: young onions, green salad, early tomatoes, radishes, young garlic, nettles, and spinach. Dairy products are excellent — sheep’s cheese, kajmak (cream). Lamb and suckling pig are in their spring season.

Slavski kolač and žito — obligatory, as at every feast.

Starters:

• Fresh cheese and kajmak (spring dairy is at its finest)
• Green salad with chicory and spring onion
• Radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes
• Homemade prosciutto or sausage
• Stuffed eggs (the feast is after Pascha — eggs are still present)

Soups and broths:

• Lamb soup with vegetables (spring, clear, aromatic)
• Nettle or spinach soup
• Chicken soup with noodles

Main dishes:

• Lamb on the spit or from the oven — a classic for spring feasts
• Suckling pig on the spit (for larger celebrations)
• Stuffed lamb shoulder
• Meatballs in tomato sauce
• Stuffed peppers (first early peppers)

Sweets:

• Homemade pies with cheese, sour cherries, or apples
• Pastries — reforma torta, strudel, crescents
• Strawberries with cream (May is strawberry season!)

Spasovdan, as a May celebration, is especially suited to outdoor feasting — in the garden, courtyard, or on a meadow. Many families who celebrate Spasovdan organise the feast outdoors, with a grill, a table in the shade, and children running across the lawn.

The Feast Liturgy and Rites

On Spasovdan the Holy Liturgy is served in the church in the morning — but since it is a Thursday (a working day), many faithful cannot attend. Nevertheless, celebrants who can should attend the Liturgy, for it is the most important part of the celebration — the church service, not merely the banquet.

In certain dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Spasovdan litanies (processions through the fields) are organised on Spasovdan — especially in Šumadija, around Kragujevac, Čačak, and Aranđelovac. These litanies are a direct continuation of the ancient agrarian custom of “walking the boundaries” practiced in Serbian villages for centuries. The priest, accompanied by the faithful, walks through the fields, censes and sprinkles them with holy water, reading prayers for the blessing of the harvest, protection from hail and drought, and the fruitfulness of the earth. In Šumadijan villages, the Spasovdan litanies were a true folk festival — with singing, the carrying of icons, the lighting of candles in the field, and a communal table under the open sky.

The rite of the slava in the home follows the standard order:

1. The priest (or host) reads a prayer over the slavski kolač
2. The home is censed with incense
3. The bread is turned with a threefold greeting (“Hristos voskrese” — “Christ is risen” — since we are in the Paschal period)
4. The bread is broken and anointed with wine
5. The feast table

The troparion of the Ascension (sung at the feast): “Thou hast ascended in glory, O Christ our God, granting joy to Thy disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit; and they were assured by the blessing that Thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.”

Preparing the Feast — Step by Step

Since Spasovdan is always a Thursday and a working day, celebrants who work must plan their preparations well.

One week ahead:

• Secure the slavski kolač (order or plan the baking)
• Invite guests (on a working day, mainly close family and friends will come)
• Arrange the priest’s visit

Three days ahead:

• Purchase provisions — especially fresh lamb or suckling pig if a spit is planned
• Marinate the meat one or two days before roasting

The day before:

• Bake the slavski kolač or collect it from the bakery
• Cook the žito
• Prepare cold starters and pastries

Morning of Spasovdan:

• Rise early — the Liturgy is in the morning
• Attend the Liturgy if possible
• Bring the slavski kolač to the church for a blessing

During the day:

• If a spit is planned, the fire is lit early in the morning
• Guests begin arriving around noon or early afternoon
• The priest’s visit — breaking of the slava bread

Special tip: For Spasovdan outdoors — set the table in the garden or courtyard, get colourful tablecloths, organise games for the children. May weather is made for outdoor celebration.

Greeting and Visiting

The greeting is: “Srećan vam Spasovdan!” or “Hristos se vazne!” — though this greeting is not as widespread as the Paschal one. The host responds: “I tebi hvala, Bog da te poživi!”

Since Spasovdan is still in the Paschal period (Pentecost is ten days later), the greeting “Hristos voskrese!” and the response “Vaistinu voskrese!” (“Christ is risen!” — “Truly He is risen!”) are still entirely appropriate and fitting.

Gifts for Spasovdan:

• Flowers — May flowers, lilac, roses, carnations
• A bottle of wine or rakija
• Sweets or fruit (strawberries are ideal!)
• An icon of the Ascension or any icon dear to the family

Spasovdan as a patron feast carries within it a beautiful symbolism: to celebrate the day on which Christ “departed” to heaven, but promised the Spirit — this is a celebration of hope and expectation. Families who keep this feast carry within themselves a part of the ancient bond of the Serbian people with the church calendar, a bond that was not a mere formal religious obligation but a true rhythm of life — the celebration of the great mysteries of faith in the midst of everyday Serbian living.