Village’s Xmas Lights Draw Thousands of Kosovars

It has become a tradition that the small village of Pjetërshan, in Gjakova, puts up its best decorations for Christmas to adorn the village. 

The bright lights placed carefully on the trees of the main church of the village attract many to visit the church. Apart from the Christian believers who live in the villages nearby, they attract many Muslims from the rest of Kosovo as well. 

When a new priest came to the parish some five years ago, little did he know that his initiative would make the village so popular. 

“It is something that the Albanian people missed. It is an environment that gives warmth to all of those who visit it, but also to those who see it through social media,” Fr Marjan Ukaj, the parish priest, says.

Since they turned on the lights, on December 1, they have had around 10,000 visitors, the priest told Prishtina Insight. 

The end-of-year celebrations bring back the good spirit of brotherhood among Muslims and Christians, says the priest. 

“In Gjakova, we have many families where one branch is Muslim and the other is Catholic. This is not cohabitation, this is literal brotherhood,” he says. 

“A good example of this is the village of Vogove, where both Muslim and Catholic branches of the same families joined forces to build the Christmas market in the church,” he tells. 

Be it the amazing view of the lights, a glass of mulled wine or a hot chocolate, Pjetërshan is worth a visit this winter.