Amador County - Local residents of Serbian descent gathered together on Thursday for a noisy and festive celebration of the first day of Serbian Christmas, a three day event. The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar to determine the date of Christmas, which this year fell on January 7th. Celebrators first gathered for a 10 a.m. service at St. Sava Church in Jackson, which, according to church officials, is considered to be the “Mother Church” of the Serbian denomination in North America and the traditional starting point for the Serbian Christmas procession. After the service, a procession led by Amador County residents Beau Gillman and Jess Votaw – both of Serbian descent – made its way down Jackson’s Main Street. A row of trucks honked and passengers shouted “Cestit Ti Bozic!” – which means “Merry Christmas” - before stopping in front of The National Hotel. At that point, at least ten Serbian men proceeded to get out of their vehicles, load single and double barrel shotguns and point them at the sky. “Folks were quite surprised because before they knew it, these men began firing off their weapons in order,” said Kam Merzlak, owner of Merzlak Signs. Kam contributed a video of the procession. Merzlak said the men fired off their weapons two or three different times. He said Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison was on scene to ensure onlookers that this was an approved shooting event. “When I saw the shell casings on the ground, I was glad to see there were no spray painted circles around them,” joked Merzlak. After the raucous procession, the tradition continued as families joined together to spend quality time in different households. Christmas surpasses all other days celebrated by Serbs, with respect to the diversity of applied folk customs and rituals. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.