Orthodox Christmas (Božić)
About
Montenegro's Serbian-Orthodox majority celebrates Christmas on the Julian calendar. Badnji dan (Christmas Eve, Jan 6) sees the ceremonial badnjak oak branch burned outside churches, and Christmas Day, January 7, is a national public holiday.
Highlights
- Julian-calendar Orthodox Christmas — 13 days after Western Christmas
- Badnjak (oak branch) bonfires outside churches on Christmas Eve
- Family feasts and church services across the Bay of Kotor
Practical tips
- Catholic Christmas (Dec 25) is also recognised in coastal Kotor
- Many businesses close; the season is quiet and cold
- Watch the Christmas Eve badnjak ceremony at a local church
Sources
Other upcoming events
Theatre City Budva 2026 (Grad teatar)
Grad teatar turns Budva's medieval squares, fortress and beaches into open-air stages each summer for two months of theatre, concerts, literary evenings and exhibitions — one of the region's most prestigious cultural festivals.
Dubrovnik Summer Festival 2026
Croatia's flagship cultural festival fills Dubrovnik's Old Town for 47 days each summer with open-air theatre, classical concerts, opera, dance and folklore across the city's historic squares, fortresses and palaces.
Statehood Day (Dan državnosti)
July 13 is Montenegro's national day, recalling both the 1878 Berlin Congress recognition of independence and the 1941 anti-fascist uprising. It is a two-day public holiday at the height of the tourist season.