20 разговоров про Новый год и Рождество

Conversation 1 – Badnjak and old trees

Nikola: Did you know that the badnjak is not just a “piece of wood”, but an ancient symbol of life and light?

Marko: Okay, but explain it to me logically: why oak in particular, and why do we burn it afterwards?

Jelena: What I find interesting is that people still gather around the badnjak as if they’re renewing a covenant with each other.

Nikola: Ever since the druids, they believed that a tree keeps the soul of a student, and the cuts on the bark were like grades.

Ana: So when we go to get the badnjak now, we’re actually continuing that old “school under the tree”?

Marko: Maybe, but I’d like to know whether there is any historical proof for that connection with the Celts.

Nikola: The cross of light in the sky and on the ground, like at the confluence of the Sava and Danube, keeps repeating as a symbol.

Jelena: I like that this story is used so that people sit peacefully at the table and don’t argue before Christmas.

Ana: In any case, let’s not be late for the market in the morning, the badnjak won’t bring itself home.

Conversation 2 – New Year’s tree and the deer

Ana: Are we going to decorate the tree tonight or tomorrow? It’s almost New Year’s.

Marko: Tonight, so I have time tomorrow to finish my reports for work.

Nikola: Just look at the deer decorations, the antlers are like little trees that renew themselves every year.

Jelena: That’s why I like that symbol, as if it says to a person: you have a new chance to be better.

Marko: And I thought deer were popular only because of Western commercials and movies.

Nikola: No, the idea of regeneration, new branches and new energy is much older than commercials.

Ana: Fine, you two can philosophize, and I’ll make tea and bring the box with decorations.

Jelena: Let’s each put one ornament for one good quality we want to develop next year.

Conversation 3 – Where to celebrate New Year’s

Marko: I suggest we celebrate New Year’s in the city, on the square, there’ll be fireworks and a program.

Ana: I’d rather go to the mountains: fire, snow, silence, fewer crowds.

Nikola: The mountain is closer to my heart, a lit house in the middle of darkness, like a little temple.

Jelena: Wherever we go, what matters to me is that we’re together and no one is left out.

Marko: The city is practical, there’s public transport, and we’re not risking the road in the snow.

Ana: And in the mountains we have firewood, a fireplace, and we can organize dinner ourselves.

Nikola: We can make a circle around the fire and everyone can say one vision for the next year.

Jelena: Let’s make a compromise: celebrate in the mountains, but the day before that a walk through the decorated city.

Conversation 4 – Gifts by type

Ana: We need to agree on what to buy for whom for Christmas, so we don’t wander around the shops.

Marko: We’ll make a table: who, budget, purchase deadline, so everything is clear.

Nikola: I like a gift to have a symbol, for example a small tree figurine or a deer.

Jelena: And it’s important to me that a gift shows we really listened to the person during the year.

Ana: For one friend I’d get something practical, like a good desk lamp.

Marko: For my brother I’ll buy a planner, so he finally organizes his chaos.

Nikola: For me you can just get a good notebook to write stories and draw symbols.

Jelena: Deal, every gift should feed either the body, or the mind, or the heart.

Conversation 5 – New Year’s wish list

Jelena: Do you make a wish list for the New Year?

Nikola: I write images, not words: I draw how I want my life to look.

Marko: I make a precise list of goals, with dates and numbers.

Ana: I only write what I can really do in the first three months.

Jelena: And I add inner things too, like patience, warmth, honesty.

Nikola: They say a wish should be tied to something material, that’s why people burn the badnjak.

Marko: It’s important to me that wishes aren’t contradictory and that I know how to measure them.

Ana: Okay, as long as it doesn’t all stay on paper, let’s check in March and see where we are.

Conversation 6 – At the market before Christmas

Ana: Look at this stall with badnjaks, which one should we take?

Marko: We’ll take a medium one, so it’s stable and not too big for our flat.

Nikola: See how they decorated it with wheat and twigs, like a tiny sacred landscape.

Jelena: The seller is really kind, he explained that the badnjak brings peace into the home.

Ana: We still need fish for Christmas Eve, so we don’t stand in line at the last moment.

Marko: I figure it’s better to buy now, prices will definitely go up tomorrow.

Nikola: I love how the market before a holiday looks like a living ritual, everyone is carrying and sharing something.

Jelena: And it’s good to smile and wish them a happy holiday, it’s not just about shopping.

Conversation 7 – The spirit of the holidays

Jelena: I’ve noticed people often end up arguing right before the holidays.

Ana: Yes, everyone is tired, rushing for gifts, waiting in lines.

Marko: And en the meaning of the holiday falls into the background, only logistics remains.

Nikola: That’s why people used to gather under a tree, to calm their heads before solving a conflict.

Jelena: Maybe we could introduce a rule: “no heavy topics at the table”.

Ana: And before lunch we can take a short break so everyone can breathe and step out on the balcony.

Marko: Good idea, it’s like a system reset so it doesn’t overheat.

Nikola: And let someone light a candle as a reminder that we’re here because of the light, not the problems.

Conversation 8 – Movies with deer

Ana: Tonight I’d watch a New Year’s movie, but not just a romantic comedy.

Marko: We’ll find something with a good story, not just colorful lights.

Nikola: I like films with enchanted forests and deer that lead people home.

Jelena: In those stories there’s always a moment when the hero chooses to be a better person.

Marko: I’ve noticed the deer is often connected with light and signposts in the dark.

Nikola: Yes, antlers like living chandeliers, branches the sun passes through.

Ana: Okay, you choose the movie, and I’ll make popcorn and tea.

Jelena: Deal, but after the movie let’s each say one kind gesture we want to do this winter.

Conversation 9 – Between two Christmases

Marko: I find it interesting that we have both the “Western” and the “Orthodox” Christmas.

Ana: For me that’s practical, a longer period of holidays and rest.

Nikola: That time between the two dates is like a bridge, like an extended sacred space.

Jelena: And for families in the diaspora it’s a chance to gather more often, both online and in person.

Marko: Sometimes double planning annoys me, but it makes sense historically.

Nikola: And symbolically, as if we’re given two chances to reset ourselves.

Ana: Fine, you keep philosophizing, I need to organize who uses the kitchen and when.

Jelena: It’s still nice that we can weave different calendars together and stay close.

Conversation 10 – Explaining tradition to foreigners

Jelena: Our friends from abroad are coming tomorrow, how are we going to explain the badnjak to them?

Marko: In short: wood, fire, togetherness, renewal — without too many details.

Nikola: But I’d mention the druid schools on the hill and the idea that a tree keeps the soul of a student.

Ana: Slowly, so we don’t confuse them, it’s better to give them images than a lecture.

Jelena: We can say it’s our way to connect God, people and nature at the table.

Marko: And that sitting by the tree means we’re not looking for conflict but for a solution.

Nikola: And burning the badnjak is like a restart: it burns the old and opens space for the new.

Ana: The most important thing is that they feel welcome, the rest they’ll understand through the atmosphere.

Conversation 11 – Reviewing the old year

Ana: Let’s make a little “report” on the year that’s ending tonight.

Marko: Deal, I’ll take notes, like a real table.

Nikola: I’d write down the big pictures: what we learned about ourselves, not just events.

Jelena: I’m interested in how we treated each other in difficult moments.

Ana: I look at what we actually finished and what we keep postponing.

Marko: It’s interesting to combine all those angles, we get a complete picture.

Nikola: Like when you look at a tree: the roots, the trunk, the branches, the leaves and the fruits.

Jelena: And it’s important to give thanks, at least inside, for what still turned out well.

Conversation 12 – Walk through the winter forest

Nikola: This snow on the branches makes the forest look like it’s entered a quiet temple.

Ana: Just watch your step, it’s slippery and it gets dark quickly.

Marko: I like how the sound gets muffled when there’s snow, like natural insulation.

Jelena: It’s calming, as if the forest is telling you: slow down, everything is okay.

Nikola: I always imagine old druids studying here in a circle of trees.

Marko: Maybe, but it’s certain that people have always sought silence before big decisions.

Ana: For me this is the ideal place to think about what I can realistically change next year.

Jelena: And to leave the old grudges here in this forest so they don’t come back home with us.

Conversation 13 – Getting ready for guests

Ana: Our relatives are coming tomorrow, we have to organize the house.

Marko: We’ll make a plan: who cleans, who cooks, who does the shopping.

Jelena: And who greets the guests at the door, so the entrance doesn’t feel cold.

Nikola: I can decorate the table so it looks like a small symbolic landscape.

Ana: Great, just don’t forget to leave space for the plates.

Marko: I’ll check whether we have enough chairs and glasses.

Jelena: And I’ll think of two or three conversation topics that bring people together, not apart.

Nikola: Let the table be like a tree: the roots are our ancestors, the branches are us, and the fruits are our deeds.

Conversation 14 – Midnight wishes

Jelena: When the clock strikes midnight, what’s the first thing you want to do?

Nikola: I close my eyes and try to see an image of the coming year.

Marko: I look at the clock and check if everything is going according to the program.

Ana: I’ll check if the candles are safe and if the stove is turned off.

Jelena: And I’ll hug everyone at the table so no one feels lonely.

Nikola: I love that moment when the old year has “gone out” and the new one is not yet written.

Marko: For me it’s just the transition to the next set of tasks, but a pleasant transition.

Ana: What matters is that we enter the New Year awake, sober and at peace with each other.

Conversation 15 – Church for Christmas

Ana: Are we going to the morning service for Christmas or is that too early for us?

Marko: It is early, but once a year we can get up.

Nikola: I like hearing the singing, as if the old and new world meet in the same echo.

Jelena: And I love when people wish each other peace and joy after the service.

Ana: We just need to agree who starts the car and who gets dressed last, so we don’t run late.

Marko: I’ll check the road and the parking so we don’t wander in the dark.

Nikola: In church I always think of that line: “I saw you when you were sitting under the tree.”

Jelena: As if someone sees us deeper than we see ourselves, especially in these days.

Conversation 16 – Calendar and cycles

Marko: I bought a new calendar for next year, with space for planning each day.

Ana: Perfect, we’ll finally have all our obligations in one place.

Nikola: I like how the circle of the year looks like a ring of light around a tree.

Jelena: And it’s good to write in family dates too, not just work ones.

Marko: I’ll mark deadlines and important projects in different colors.

Ana: And I’ll write down days when I don’t accept extra tasks, so I don’t burn out.

Nikola: Let each month have its own little word or symbol, to remind us why we’re doing all this.

Jelena: That way the calendar becomes not just a list of tasks, but also a map of meaning.

Conversation 17 – Helping others for the holidays

Jelena: I’m thinking that this year, instead of another box of sweets, we could take something to a charity.

Ana: We could buy food or firewood for a family.

Marko: We just need to find a reliable organization and precise information on who the help goes to.

Nikola: We can also write short messages of hope, so it’s not just material.

Jelena: Holidays are the best when someone who doesn’t have much feels they’re not forgotten.

Ana: Let’s set the budget today already, so we don’t postpone it tomorrow.

Marko: Okay, I’ll make a small plan and a list of things we need.

Nikola: It’s like planting a little tree of kindness in the middle of this cold winter.

Conversation 18 – Online family meeting

Ana: Since we can’t all meet in person, let’s make a family video call for New Year’s.

Marko: Yes, we just need a precise time because of the different time zones.

Jelena: And we mustn’t forget the ones who don’t call much, they might need this the most.

Nikola: We can imagine that we’re all under the same invisible tree, just in different cities.

Ana: I’ll check the cameras, microphones and the link, so there’s no chaos at the last minute.

Marko: I’ll create a small “agenda” so everyone can say something and not get lost in the noise.

Jelena: The most important thing is that someone at the beginning says: “I’m glad we’re together, even like this.”

Nikola: Sometimes the light of the screen really becomes like a small flame of a shared hearth.

Conversation 19 – A tree story for children

Jelena: The kids are coming tomorrow, we need a short Christmas story for them.

Nikola: We’ll tell them about students who planted trees on top of a hill and guarded them like their hearts.

Ana: Just simplify it so it’s not too complicated for the little ones.

Marko: And it’s better not to use the word “druid”, we can say “old teachers from the forest”.

Jelena: I want the children to feel that a tree is a friend, not just decoration.

Nikola: The ending can be: whenever you protect someone or something, your inner tree grows.

Ana: After the story we can draw a tree together, with many branches of wishes.

Marko: That’s a nice exercise both for imagination and for concentration.

Conversation 20 – First morning of the New Year

Ana: How do you feel this morning, after all the celebrating?

Marko: A bit tired, but I’m satisfied that everything went according to plan.

Nikola: I have the feeling that the light is different, as if the year really is new.

Jelena: I’m thinking that the first thing I want to do today is send someone a message of gratitude.

Ana: I’ll start with the kitchen, to bring order back after the holiday chaos.

Marko: I’ll go through the goals we wrote down last night to see where to start.

Nikola: We can imagine this morning as a young tree, and everything we do will be its first ring.

Jelena: If we protect that “young tree” inside us, we’ll keep our peace even after the New Year euphoria fades.