Yesterday I went to visit some friends who were celebrating their Slava (a Serbian orthodox tradition in which families celebrate their patron saint’s day). Although I have been among Serbians for many years and I have heard of Slavas here and there I never attended one.

The guests usually bring flowers and wine. Once they arrived  at the house they approach to a little altar set up with a candle, a Slava cake that looks like the bread flower  Serbs eat for their Christmas and a dish with some kind of nut paste that needs to be tried as a part of the ritual.

The hosts prepare food to feed a nation. The dishes at this feast were so great that I ate thrice. We stayed at their home until 3 am and at that hour I was still eating desserts. We were lucky to try a fantastic homemade plum rakija, “the good stuff” as we called it, that one of the family members brought from the countryside.

People were coming and leaving throughout the afternoon  and night and there we were sitting, talking and laughing without counting the hours. On top of that and to add more magic to the warm night, the effect of the rakia and the Serbian wine, the moon was full and bright .

This Slava can be counted as one more amazing experience I have had in Belgrade and I am sure is not the last one .