Merry Christmas from Macedonia

Christmas in Macedonia

7 Jan 2015 | From Goran of Macedonia

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

Среќен Божик и среќна Нова година

(Sreken Božik i srekna Nova godina)!

Macedonian people give a lot of attention to the celebration of Christmas, which begins with the Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas. Unlike most of the world the unique thing in Macedonia is that Christmas Eve is on the 6th of January and Christmas is on the 7th of January. This is because the Macedonian Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar which is 14 days behind.

Christmas begins early in the morning with a service at the church. The Communion service is given only after the feuding are reconciled and invite each other to their homes as Christmas is known as a time of forgiveness and tolerance. People should clear their souls of any hate and manifest the purity of this day. In some villages in Macedonia, after the service the girls go by orchards and tie the trees to be preserved from diseases and be fruitful. This custom is accompanied by many songs and smiling faces.

Christmas is a holiday full of symbolism. The Macedonian celebration of Christmas is different from place to place, but either way Christmas cannot be imagined without the Christmas Eve, the Christmas twig, the straw and the Christmas cake. More here.

Sights and scenes: Macedonia

'

Bitola, Macedonia

26 Sept 2014 | From Mitchell of Netherlands

SURPRISE POSTCARD | POSTCARD SENT FROM MACEDONIA

I met Mitchell through Postcrossing when he randomly got my address and sent me a postcard. He sent me a 'Zwarte Piet' postcard. We became friends and kept in-touch online. I got this postcard from him during his trip to Macedonia with his father. He described Macedonia as a beautiful and fascinating country. Macedonia is dotted with beautiful Orthodox churches, monasteries, and Ottoman mosques. He also enjoyed exploring the old towns and nature. Macedonia remains one of Europe’s last undiscovered countries: a natural paradise of mountains, lakes and rivers, where life moves to a different rhythm, amidst the sprawling grandeur of rich historical ruins and idyllic villages that have remained practically unchanged for centuries.

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It has been known since the Ottoman period as "the city of the consuls", since many European countries have consulates in Bitola. 

The Macedonian capital

Skopje, Macedonia

19 Feb, 2014 | From Goran of Macedonia

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic center. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi.

The Millennial Cross

The Millennial Cross

18 Sept, 2013 | From Goran Andonov of Macedonia

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

The Millennium Cross (Mileniuski krst) is a 66 metre-high cross situated on the top of the Vodno Mountain in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. It was constructed to serve as a memorial of 2,000 years of Christianity in Macedonia and the world.

The cross was built on the highest point of the Vodno mountain on a place known since the time of the Ottoman Empire as "Krstovar", meaning "Place of the cross", as there was a smaller cross situated there.

Goran shared that this is a pride of Macedonia, and is regarded as the world's tallest cross.

Map and Flag of Macedonia

Map and Flag of Macedonia

18 Sept, 2013 | From Goran Andonov of Macedonia

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Goran and I decided to keep sending each other postcards - and this is one of the two postcards I recently received from him. Skopje is the capital of Macedonia. And he shared that Sveti Nikole is his hometown.

The national flag of the Republic of Macedonia depicts a stylised yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the centre to the edge of the field. It was created by Pr. Miroslav Grčev and was adopted on 5 October 1995 after a one-year economic blockade imposed by Greece in order to force the Republic of Macedonia to remove the ancient Macedonian Vergina Sun from the flag.

Red and yellow have always been considered the main colours representing Macedonia, probably because of the colours of the historical coat of arms of Macedonia. The new eight-rayed sun represents "the new sun of Liberty" referred to in the national anthem of the Republic of Macedonia, Denes nad Makedonija ("Today over Macedonia").

Beautiful Macedonia

Sights and scenes of Macedonia

16 Apr, 2013 | From Goran Andonov of Macedonia

POSTCROSSING SWAP

This is the second postcard Goran sent me for our swap. At the center of the postcard, you can see the Macedonian flag inside an outline of a map of Macedonia.

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia, is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991.

A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia is bordered by Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northwestern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises the neighbouring parts of northern Greece and a smaller portion in Bulgaria. The country's capital is Skopje.

The Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Mustafa Pasha Mosque

16 Apr, 2013 | From Goran Andonov of Macedonia

POSTCROSSING SWAP

This is my first postcard from Macedonia as part of a special swap. Goran wrote that this is one of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in Skopje. Mustafa Pasha Mosque was built in 1492 while Macedonia was under the Ottoman empire.

It is photographed from the Fortress Kale which was built in the 6th century.