Christmas Twice a Year? Yes…if you’re married to a Serb!

Is it possible to have Christmas twice a year?

Hi, my name is Cam and I am an American who is married to a Serbian woman. I’m learning Serbian language and I love the Balkan region. I am also the host of the show “The Broadcast” I talk about my Serbian language journey. If you are learning Serbian or you are thinking about learning Serbian check out the videos where I share some useful tips that can help you improve your Serbian. Click here to watch the videos.

Christmas twice a year

There are many reasons why I love having a Serbian wife. It isn’t just the fact that my wife is beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, practical, and globally-minded. While that would be enough reasons to be happily married, there is another reason: I get Christmas twice a year! How? It’s simple: because there is “Christmas”, and then there is “Serbian Christmas”. Allow me to explain.

Gregorian & Julian Calendar

In the United States of America, we use a calendar known as the “Gregorian Calendar”, created by Pope Gregory the XIII in 1582. But prior to the Gregorian Calendar most of Europe, the Roman Empire, and early European settlements in America used the “Julian Calendar”, created by Julius Ceasar in 46 BC.

In fact, there are some countries that continue to use the Julian calendar, and Serbia is one of them. As a result, Christmas in Serbia falls on January 7th, making Christmas Eve January 6th. How cool is that? This means if you’re American or live in a country that utilizes the Gregorian Calendar (it’s the most widely used calendar in the world) and you are married to a Serb then you get Christmas twice a year! Isn’t that amazing?

We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope this holiday season brings you love, peace, joy, and hopefully a second Christmas!

Merry Christmas – Srećan Božić or Hristos Vaskrs in Serbian