Slava is the most important day of the year to the Serbian Orthodox Christians. It means "Day of Glory." It is a day of reconciliation and celebrates when a man's ancestors first became Christian. Each family celebrates it on his own patron saint's day. Our saint is St. Nicolas, so we celebrate on December 19 every year. Our friends drop in to celebrate with us.

My husband is sitting in front of the table that contains the bare essentials we need for proper celebration. First you see the wheat dish that is served as guests come in. It is made from cooked wheat that has been dried and ground in a meat grinder until it looks like hamburger. It is then mixed with finely ground walnuts and sugar. Every guest takes a spoonful as he arrives. It is quite tasty. The wheat represents the resurrection of Christ.

Next on the table you see the slava cake -- really a sweet bread that is specially decorated with doves (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) and an anagram that represents the name of Jesus. We also put an open Bible decoration on it to symbolize our own faith that it is God's word to us. On the second day of Slava, my husband will break the bread, pour a bit of wine on it, and serve it to his family as communion bread.

Last you see the bowl with olive oil and water and a wick next to a candle. At the beginning of each Slava, in the morning, my husband lights the candle to indicate that he will be faithful in leading his family in faith during the year. I light the little wick in the bowl with oil to indicate that I will pray for my husband and support him in faith during the year. At the end of the day, we save part of the candle to light the night before the next year's Slava to indicate we have kept the faith.

Although we are not currently attending a Serbian Orthodox church (We are Presbyterians), we believe the Slava celebration has a message we enjoy sharing with our friends. Every year my husband picks a story from the old Serbian literature to share, and explains the meaning of the holiday. Before Slava, all family members have to settle their differences and forgive any wrongs that have been done to them by other family members. If your worst enemy comes to your Slava and asks forgiveness, you must forgive him.

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