Earlier on the eve of their Christmas, Kosovo’s Serbs were seen gathering branches to be burned in remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ. Some Christians said they could flee if the province’s ethnic Albanian leaders, as expected, declare independence.
Since 1999, when Serb forces withdrew from Kosovo after a NATO bombing campaign, there have been dozens of attacks against Serbian Orthodox churches, monasteries and even grave yards, according to church estimates. Many attacks have been linked to Albanian mobs seeking revenge for years of persecution under late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
In the Serbian capital Belgrade, Serbian president Boris Tadic and other senior politicians joined the faithful in Belgrade cathedral, with national radio and television carrying a message from the religious authorities expressing concerns about Kosovo.
"SACRED LAND"
It spoke with sadness about the future of "our sacred land, heart and soul of the Serbian people." Yet some of Kosovo’s minority Serbs said they will not leave Kosovo. One young Serb Christian, who refused to give his name, told EuroNews Television that "No matter what happens, we will stay her." The teenager added: "I will defend my home. I hope that this is
not our last Christmas here."
Christmas celebrations were also held Monday, January 7, in Mitrovica, a town divided between Kosovo’s minority Serbs and the ethnic Albanian majority. In Montenegro, which recently separated from a federation with Serbia, the traditions included blessings round open log fires.
Patriarch Alexy II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a close ally of Serbs, presided at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow.
