What you are missing

For those of you who may not know, Rade, my Serbian Orthodox friend is no longer located in "Edmonds, Washington" as his blog page proclaims, but rather now is calling Serbia home - at least for the summer. And while we miss him (the League of Ordinary Gentlemen won't be the same without him!), he is keeping us updated quite regularly about his doings in the "old country." For anyone interested in reading more about the ins and outs of Orthodoxy (and life in general) in Serbia you can visit his home away from home blog here:

http://notesfromserbia.blogspot.com/

Zivili Rade!

On a website that distributes THIS Serbian Plum Brandy, they offer the following Serbian toast: “Three times you take a sip, each in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost and look! You are sound and fit! God Bless You with a hundred year long toast.”

Ever hear that one Rade?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thank you much for the fine blog endorsement James!
Perhaps it is a different practice, or just translation difficulties, but here in central Serbia (Shumadija) when having a glass of brandy the common toast is to cross yourself, and then touch glasses with your companions. The most common toast is "Da smo zivi i zdravi!" Which would be most closly translated to, "May we be alive and healthy." I've also heard the toast "may God grant you a hundred years, but it is less common.
I'm still pleasantly surprised every time someone uses the greeting "Pomazi ti Bog" - May God help you, and the response May God help us. I couldn't imagine greeting the cashier at Bartells with "May God help you."...
fdj said…
A Bartell's cashier would likely take such a greeting as a critique of his socio-economic status.

And his response may be "thank you"
or...ummm...something decidedly different.
:)
Munkee said…
My new toasts have been discovered!!!

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