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Mihaela Lica Butler

Wedding in Galičnik, a Macedonian Treasure

One of the most heart-moving celebrations in Macedonia, and also one that should be atop of your list of reasons to visit this beautiful country, is the Galičnik Wedding (Galička Svadba), a touristic event, designed to reenact the traditional customs of the region, and to preserve the original folk songs, horas and the Galičnik peasant costume.

This event alone makes the village of Galičnik an attractive destination this summer. Make sure you plan your vacation around St. Peter’s Day (July 12) – this is when the famous Galičnik Wedding is celebrated. The difficult part is finding accommodation, which in Galičnik is only available in a few village houses. However, the nearby ski center Mavrovo (17km) has a few hotels and apartments. There’s no camping in the region, and very few people speak English.

Galička Svadba, courtesy Reuters

Some of the customs reenacted by the Galičnik Wedding include the mother-in-law’s hora, the decorating of the flag, escorting of the flag from the broom’s house, shaving of the broom, baking of the bread, invitation of the dead and many others.

Decorating the flag - a traditional starting tradition of the Galička svadba, courtesy village of Galichnik

The escort of the flag, from the broom's house, - courtesy village of Galičnik.

Aside well-preserved traditions, Galičnik also has well preserved traditional architecture, and other authentic touristic attractions, such as the Church of St.Peter and Paul, local amphitheater and nature preserve.

Galichnik panorama, courtesy Wikipedia.

Categories: Macedonia
Mihaela Lica Butler: A former military journalist, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mihaelalicabutler">Mihaela Lica-Butler</a> owns and is a senior partner at Pamil Visions PR and editor at Argophilia Travel News. Her credentials speak for themselves: she is a cited authority on search engine optimization and public relations issues, and her work and expertise were featured on BBC News, Reuters, Yahoo! Small Business Adviser, Hospitality Net, Travel Daily News, The Epoch Times, SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, and many others. Her books are available on <a href="https://amzn.to/2YWQZ35">Amazon</a>

View Comments (3)

  • I would like to know if the person that wrote this article as ever actually been to the Galicnik wedding or is this just a canned PR article? As having been to this event there is nothing heart warming about it - it is noisy, disorganized and the lack of accommodation and facilities makes it just a pain.

  • You are such a special person, Will Smith, aren't ya? With special needs. I see. Uhm, yeah, I've been there, done that - as I come from that part of Europe... not from the country, you know? Canned PR... probably. Lack of accommodation... haven't I warned about that already? Are you really really bored, or are you trying to prove a point? My guess is that you cannot cope with the lack of five star pluming. Some people don't need much to feel alive, you know?