Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Petrovdan)
12 July 2026 — Light the lila torch – Petrovdan is here, and the fires warm the night!
Petrovdan is the feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. Churches that follow the Julian calendar, including the Serbian Orthodox Church, observe it on 12 July in the Gregorian calendar, which is 29 June in the Julian one. It ends the Apostles' Fast. In Serbia the day is called Petrovdan and is marked with the liturgy and a family meal. According to folk tradition, on the eve children and shepherds light bonfires and „lila“ torches made of bark, sometimes walking around the village or the flocks. Fire is a sign of light, joy and community in midsummer. The feast falls shortly after the summer solstice, when days are longest and the nights are short and warm. It is a lovely time to look up, as the summer sky is full of stars. Local customs differ from village to village, and in many families Petrovdan is also a slava, the feast of the family's patron saint.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure of a young shepherd boy made of bright dots and fine lines, like a constellation drifting across the sky
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