ROŽANICE

"It is impossible to escape fate. Our people think that every man’s life
and death are fated, and a man cannot escape his predetermined fate." 
- Vuk Karadžić

Rožanice are divine women who determine a newborn child's destiny. There
are three of them and, according to the magic of this number, they
determine the fate of the child most often on the third night after the
birth of the child. It has been reported in some Serbian regions that it
may even be on the seventh night. It is known that they enter the house
through the chimney. How do they behave when determining fate? The fate of
the child is suggested by the first rožanica, who is both the oldest and
very ugly and evil - she wants the child's death; middle - or second in
order - is also evil, but she seeks to have the child with physical
disabilities; the third and youngest, at the same time the most beautiful
and noble, foretells the child a long life and happiness in marriage.
Usually the middle solution is accepted. 

Rožanice determine not only how long the child will live, but also what
kind of death they will die. When the arrival of the women in the house was
expected, everything had to be neat. A child in clean diapers, a cake,
wine, basil, and gold or silver metal coins are placed around him. All of
this represents a kind of sacrifice, a gift to rožanice, and in return, as
a reward, they are expected to be gentle in prophesying the fate of the
baby.

In Bulgaria, rožanice are imagined as three sisters, girls or women, about
30-35 years old, and the youngest is about 20 years old. They wear white
dresses. Honey and sweets are most often found on the table below, which is
intended for rožanice. On the third evening of child’s life, they visit it.
The child must be dressed for this event. The baby is dressed in its
father's shirt, and the neck and parts under the muscles are greased with
lard and tar; on the hearth, as with Serbs, a fire should burn. It is
believed that the child's mother should be awake that night because she is
the only one that is able to hear the voice of rožanice. In Russia, it has
been recorded that if the house wasn’t cleaned, if sacrificial items
weren’t present and if people were sleeping when rožanice came, the fate of
the child will go wrong.

-Daelendil