Today is Saint Sava Day in my country - Serbia. All schools are celebrating this day as a very important day of the schools, the students participate in the performances ,they are reciting poems about St. Sava and narrate many legends and stories.
This photo is illustration from one children magazine.
There are many books and magazines with stories and poetry about him.
Let's begin from scratch.
Rastko Nemanjich, later Saint Sava, was born in the town of Ras in 1175. He was a Serbian prince, the third son of Stefan Nemanja who was the ruler of Serbian country in that period, At the age of seventeen, Rastko went to monastery and became a monk without asking his parents for permission to do so.It was a real surprise for the whole family. On Mount Athos (Holy Mountain in Grecce), in The Orthodox monastery colony he was given a new name - Sava so the people know him as Sava, or Saint Sava.
At the end of 1197, his father joined him and became a monk too. He was named Simeon. In 1198. the two of them together, the father and the son, restored the abandoned monastery Hilandar up on Athos, which since that moment has become the center of Serbian Christian monastery life. Saint Sava founded the Serbian church, so his role is the most important one in the whole history of our church.
He is the father of Serbian national identity. He is also considered the father of Serbian education and schools, because he started the first schools in Serbia. This, among all other things, describes the role of this man what he means to Serbian people. That's why schools celebrate his day, and he represents an important figure for Serbian education. Every year the students in all schools read and recite poems about him.
Saint Sava died od 27th of January, 1235. In a Bulgarian town Trnovo. Later, that date was established as a school holiday-The School Patron Saint's day or so called Slava: Every Orthodox family has a family patron saint's day. For example we celebrate Saint Nicolas patron saint's day, and my mum celebrates Saint Jovan in January. Also every town, every craft, every profession has its patron saint. Families celebrate slava by performing some rituals - going to church, making special slava bread, at home families have a special dinner with their friends and relatives (like Christmas or Thanksgiving).
I hope you like to know about Saint Sava , even though it is very small part abo
ut his life, but it is good to know these facts.
Greetings