CUSTOMS
It would be quite irresponsible if we forgot everything our ancestors respected and celebrated. Many customs have already been abandoned, yet some continue to survive today.
The largest village festival used to be “opasilo” which was celebrated on the second Sunday in July. In the past, all relatives used to gather in the main family house. In the morning, all of them attended mass in the village church. After mass, an accordionist started playing outside the church, leading all the people to the first dance. In the evening, the local youth organised a dance that had to finish at midnight. The next day, on Monday, the dance and the feast were prepared only for the villagers. The “opasilo” has been preserved until today, with some changes.
The “ŠKOROMATIJA” carnival also boasts a long tradition in Javorje. The Mardi Gras has been celebrated since old times. The characteristic costumes include “škoromat, klanfar, poberin” and others. The villagers dress up in these costumes and, on Saturday, gather food and money from house to house in a procession (“poberija”). First, they visit the neighbouring village of Male Loče and then return to Javorje where they prepare a dinner and a celebration for the entire village. In Javorje, the tradition of “škoromatija” has never been interrupted, not even in the post-war period, as happened in certain villages in the neighbourhood.
If a bridegroom had a bride from Javorje, he had to pay the young men from the village for the bride before the wedding. This custom was also observed in other villages. If the bridegroom refused to pay, the men took bitter revenge on him.
On Good Friday before Easter, the church is open all day and the villagers come to pray at the Tomb of Christ. This ritual is still alive and all the villagers go to church on that Friday to pray.
BLESSING OF HOUSES Until recently, the children or the sexton from the village blessed the houses with a block of incense (a glowing mushroom shape) which is blessed beforehand in the parish church in Hrušica. This custom has slowly been abolished.
For a long time there was a custom in Javorje that obliged the villagers to dig a grave for the deceased and carry the coffin. There was a special order of precedence. After the chapel of rest was built and funerals started to be carried out by funeral homes, this custom has slowly been disappearing.
The villagers still socialise on occasions of pig slaughtering and brandy distilling. In winter time, villagers used to repair their tools, knit baskets, tell stories etc.
