the badnjak as an incarnation of the spirit of vegetation, and as a divinity who dies by burning to be reborn, to whom sacrifices and prayers were offered for the fertility of fields, the health and happiness of the family. The burning symbolized sunshine, securing the vitalizing power of the sun in the coming year. Other South Slavic peoples have similar traditions, and the custom that a family brings a log into the house and burns it on Christmas Eve has also been recorded in other parts of Europe. Family celebration Felling and preparing Traditionally, the badnjak ceremony begins on Christmas Eve, but there are many regional variations surrounding the details. Early in the morning the head of each family, usually accompanied by several male relatives, selects and fells the tree from which a log will be cut for their household. The group announces its departure by firing guns or small celebratory mortars called prangija. The Turkey oak is the most popular species of tree selected in most regions, but other oaks are also chosen. Beech, pear, quince, hornbeam, and plum trees are used in eastern Serbia, although less frequently than oak trees. In some areas of Montenegrin Littoral where oaks do not grow, olives, bay laurels, elms, or strawberry trees are used instead. Young, straight, and undamaged specimens are preferred. The badnjak may be more valued if it is felled stealthily in someone else's rather than in one's own woods. Generally, each household prepares one badnjak, although more are cut in some regions. Depending on the local custom, Montenegrin Serbs may fell two, three, an arbitrary number greater than two, or the number equal to the male members of household plus one. The latter means that each of the males has a log associated with him, with the thickest log representing the head of household and the thinnest linked to the family's prosperity. If there is only one man in the household, three rather than two logs are prepared. The logs may be cut from different species of tree. In parts of the Bay of Kotor, each household prepares four sets, as they are burned there not only on Christmas Eve, but also on the eves of New Year's Day, Epiphany, and the Feast of Saint Sava. In Grbalj, south-west of Kotor, the number of the logs is equal to the number of people in the household. A terebinth