Croatian Traditional Congratulatory Processions, Visitations and Customs from Christmas to Epiphany

Sa？etak In Croatian traditional culture Christmas time includes the following Feast days: Christmas, St. Stephen’s Day, St. John’s Day, Holy Innocents’ Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and Epiphany. The paper cites and multidisciplinary interprets about hundred examples of congratulatory processions, visitations and customs from Christmas to Epiphany. These examples are found in literature since 1846. until our days, and about seventy examples are contemporary recordings from Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These recordings were made from 2004 until 2017. Some congratulatory processions, visitations and customs have disappeared, some were modified and reduced. Pre-Christian elements are reflected in congratulatory processions, visitations and customs. Custom of sprinkling polo？aj with wheat and his striking of fire and pronouncing the wishes for the upcoming year has a panspermic function. When polo？aj would come near his girlfriend’s house, after the polo？ajenje, the household members would greet him by shooting their rifles. That custom had an apotropaic function. Symbolic child beating on the Holy Innocent’s Day also has the apotropaic function. The use of pyrotechnics during the New Year’s Eve has the same function. That custom in Croatian traditional culture was formed in the second half of the 20th century and it is the youngest custom interpreted in the paper