by Dragan from Skopje asks Santa about digital wallpaper, learns about North Macedonia’s Lake Ohrid, and hears about the Orthodox badnik yule log tradition
Dear Santa, my name is Dragan and I am nine years old. I live in Skopje, North Macedonia, where my dedo says our city has one of the biggest statues of a warrior on a horse that most people have ever seen in a public square.
Dear Dragan, I have flown past that impressive statue myself, and your dedo is not exaggerating in the slightest.
Santa, I have three questions.
My first question is, can I get Christmas 4K wallpaper for my tablet? My baba says technology moves faster than she can keep up with, but I still want a nice snowy picture for my screen.
The elves in the technology department handle exactly that sort of request, Dragan, and I hear they have gotten quite skilled at crisp, snowy sleigh scenes. Your baba’s confusion about technology is very relatable, even to me some years.
My second question is about our lake. My teacher says a beautiful, very old lake sits near the border of our country. Is Lake Ohrid really that special?
It is, Dragan. Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in all of Europe, believed to be millions of years old, home to unique species found almost nowhere else. Flying over its still, dark water each Christmas Eve is a genuinely peaceful, ancient part of my route.
My third question is about badnik. My family burns an oak branch on Christmas Eve, which falls on January 6th for us. Why do we burn it?
The badnik, a young oak branch or log, is burned as part of Orthodox Christmas Eve tradition in North Macedonia, symbolizing light, warmth, and hope for the year ahead. North Macedonia follows the older church calendar, placing Christmas on January 7th, and I always return for that properly timed, meaningful visit.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Dragan Stojanovski
Skopje, North Macedonia
P.S. Do you watch the badnik burn when you visit in January?
Every year, Dragan. It is one of the warmer traditions on my whole route.
