Vasilica is celebrated due to the legend, which has been passed on among Roma people for generations; and in the legend it is said that in days of yore, Roma people running away from the terror of the conquerors came to the "Great Water", and the only deliverance was to reach the land by swimming the water. But, because most of them were women, children and elderly people, when they entered the water, it was very likely that they would down. Then, in order to save them, God sent them geese, which succeeded to save them from drowning, and take them to land. As a result of that old event and the mercy of God, they celebrate Vasilica every year as their traditional holiday. On that day, they express their enormous gratefulness to God and great respect to the goose. Usually, every year, on 12 January, geese afre slaughtered, and until 14 January, everyone who is not a member of the family cannot enter their home (usually the people that we tell the legend ask to us why the Roma people slaughter geese when they saved them long time ago. According to the Roma people mythology, there is a belief that from sacrifice that is made at certain traditional rituals, the heart and the liver should be taken out.. They believe that the luck, which Roma people had in the past, should stay with them. That ritual is done on the day when the goose is slaughtered, and the family prepares only the heart and the liver of the goose). At dawn, on 14 January the home of the family, which celebrates Vasilica visits a person, whom Roma people call polazniko (that man is previously chosen by the family to visit first, and he is considered to bring luck and well being to them). That man brings money and wheat, and while entering the house, he throws it in the air and says, "May God bless you. May he bring you happiness and well-being. This year less, and next more." Then they set the table, abundant in food and drink, for the polazniko, and as a specialty he is served pacha (kind of meat jelly), which is made of garlic, the head, the neck, the wings and the legs of the goose. The pacha is prepared in a specific way. After it cools down it changes from liquid to solid. This change of the pacha symbolizes the deliverance of the Roma people from the "Great Water", and their reaching the land. Polazniko tries the pacha first, and then the host. They eat pacha in order to express their gratefulness to the parts of the goose, which saved the Roma people from drowning in the "Great Water" long time ago. After the polazniko leaves, all the relatives and friends can visit the home of the family that celebrates this traditional holiday to exchange their greetings. During the celebration of this holiday, Roma people organize themselves into groups and visit the home of every member of the group where they exchange their greetings and try the pacha of the host. This habit is due to the tradition and the belief that the spirit of the goose should connect all Roma people, and that they should preserve their unity. Roma people celebrate this holiday for four days.
