A Serbian Christmas tree

The children of our parish Serbian school in Bedford paid a visit to St Paul's Church in Bedford to see our parish Christmas tree in the annual festival on Saturday 8th December.

St Paul's Church holds a Christmas tree festival every year where organisations including local schools, charities and businesses decorate their own trees.

St Paul's Church is located in the town centre and is the regular venue of our Serbian Orthodox Divine Liturgy at the first Sunday of every month and on special occasions.

This is the first year that the parish of St Andrew the First-Called has contributed our own a Christmas tree to the festival. Our own customs are more related to (but still distinct from) the earlier English custom of the Yule log where specially selected wood is burnt on the hearth, with a specific Christian meaning.

Protonica Dragica 'Seka' Stokić, who teaches at the parish school, carefully prepared the tree to include references to our own traditions - clementines and walnuts, straw and oak leaves, flags, crests and miniature opanke. The tree was provided by former parish president Mišo Simić. It joined 70 other tress this festvial which included performances from handbell ringers and a choir.