I’ve been fortunate to have acquired a lot of interesting costume pieces over the years, some as purchases but many as gifts. Not all of them have been big items, or rare ones. Socks are an overlooked piece of folk dress and I’d like to share some of the beautiful Eastern Serbian examples I have.
There is perhaps no costume element more elegant than the libade, a woman’s garment that became part of the urban costume. Its adoption into Serbian textile culture and spread throughout Serbian lands has some interesting historic roots. Continue reading
Part of the intent of this blog is to help educate those people with an interest in folklore or some aspect of Balkan heritage and tradition. It’s interesting how enduring that idea of heritage can be. Continue reading
Serbs still widely celebrate their old calendar (julian calendar) new year. Unlike the gregorian new year, which they often call kalendarska or gradjanska nova godina (calendar or civil new year), the 14th of January is called many things: srpska nova godina (Serbian new year), pravoslavna nova godina (Orthodox new year), and confusingly, stara nova godina (old new year). However, the oldest traditional name for this day is Vasilica – the feast of St. Basil.
Свилен конац Silken Thread 