Serbians mark Orthodox Christian New Year according to old tradition

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Nearly two weeks after celebrating New Year, many Serbians did it again on Tuesday evening, this time according to old Orthodox Christian tradition.

Some Eastern Orthodox churches follow the ancient Julian calendar, which runs 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar used by Catholic and Protestant churches and much of the secular world.

The streets in central Belgrade’s commercial pedestrian zone were busy with people on Tuesday night, and Christmas and New Year’s decorations were still on full display.

“I celebrate the Serbian (New Year),” said Zoran Todorovic, a Belgrade resident. “We’re going out. We’ll take a walk, drink mulled wine, eat traditional sweets, and then we’ll go home and treat ourselves to a meal. I feel lovely.”

Jovan Brkic, also from Belgrade, was skeptical. “I don’t celebrate Serbian New Year. I don’t give it much attention.”

“I think it’s the same as the non-Serbian one, the usual, commercial New Year,” he added. “It’s just an economic trick to get people to spend a bit more money, to give them a reason to be cheerful.”

A fireworks and a drone show was held at midnight at a newly built and much-criticized residential block by the Sava River in Belgrade that was backed by Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

In the central Serbian town of Cacak, however, protesters snowballed a folk singer performing at the main square, angry that the local authorities were using public money for the celebrations, N1 regional television reported.

Vucic faced street protests throughout last year against his autocratic rule in Serbia that were triggered by a train station disaster in November 2024 that killed 16 people in a northern city.