Part of Bishop Frane Franića Street in Kaštel Kambelovac is another year in a row like a Christmas fairy tale. Thousands of lights, Christmas decorations and colors adorn the yards, of which those of the Britvić and Baturina families stand out.
The Britvić family, more precisely father Ivo, who is known in his Kambelovac by the nickname Meriko, is responsible for this Christmas idyll, with the help of daughters Dunja and Karmen, granddaughter Karla, son-in-law Jure, but also neighbors who help each other when it comes to Christmas decorations, one of whom is Ivan Baturina.
Metal Christmas trees, bears, reindeer and a dolphin are just some of the figures that decorate their yards, some of which were made by the skillful hands of Ivo and Ivan. The festive atmosphere from the yard is not lacking in the family home, which looks like a real Christmas postcard. The pine tree, lights, fire in the fireplace and Christmas decorations provide warmth as soon as you enter, frozen from the cold.
Iva's daughter Dunja told us how this whole magical Christmas story actually began:
- All the love for Christmas, tradition and Christmas customs comes from the family itself. Since I was a little girl, I watched my grandmother lovingly make nativity scenes that no one was allowed to approach. I couldn't wait to grow up one day and have my own nativity scene, to be able to put it together myself the way she taught me. Of course, my parents took over all that love, a great love for decoration, pine trees, nativity scenes and everything else, and that slowly spread to the garden with some small initial details that grew from year to year. Every year we add details, change the story, and the garden is our little family story that changes every year with new themes, toys and souvenirs.
It took them two to three weeks of full-time work to decorate the yard and house, emphasizes Dunja, everyone helps, but dad still has the final say, and it's up to the others to fulfill wishes and listen to Iva's instructions. As for the Britvić family's neighbors, they are almost as enthusiastic as they are, so the Christmas spirit has slowly spread to them as well.
Christmas isn't the only holiday the Britvić family celebrates by decorating their yard and home. For Easter, they put up a large Easter egg in the yard, along with smaller decorations, that Ivo made himself:
- We have an Easter egg that Dad made himself. It took forever, and the egg is made of Styrofoam. It was like science fiction, how to make an egg oval and look like a real egg. He didn't sleep all night, and in the morning he told me that he had come up with a solution - an ellipse that rotated, a semicircle that was fixed and that spun around like a globe so that it could cut the Styrofoam. On one side is the sea, a sailboat, the Dalmatian islands, and on the other side are our vineyards, olive groves and St. Michael - Dunja tells us.
Ivo, better known as Meriko, explains how his various creations are made:
- I make these things with the help of my neighbor friend Ivan, who helps me. I do some tailoring for him, he welds for me, and that's how we come up with an idea. He suggests something to me, and I make it happen for him. I love it and, thank God, I know how to make everything. That's how I made the dolphin in the yard. I saw it on television, filmed it, and made it. This is how I find myself - says Ivo as he shows us models of stone Dalmatian houses, wooden fish, sea urchins, and seagulls.
When he starts making a new piece, Ivo says, he gets so engrossed in his work that he forgets about food and drink until he finishes and the piece is finished, and he shares the vast majority of his handicrafts with friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, so that today a large number of people have a reminder of it forever in their homes.
In the house above the Britvić family is the Baturina family, and in it is Ivan, who, together with Merika, makes small Christmas miracles out of things:
- When I moved here, the Britvić family had already started doing it. As they started, it led us all to be in one group, so this started to spread a little further and now almost the entire street is involved, and it was started by our Ivo, and there are also the neighbors Berket. Together we help each other with what we can and what we can't, then we find some other way and it's good. - tells us neighbor Ivan, whose yard, to the joy of his grandchildren, is a real little Christmas fairy tale with lights and birthday gifts in the form of Christmas decorations.
Preparing the garden, Ivan says, takes about three to four days, depending on how much time he has and how much the weather allows. The worst thing for him is when the spark plugs he tested earlier stop working after they are installed, so he starts removing them and installing new ones.
With a lot of effort, love and togetherness, they created a real holiday magic that we hope will last as long as possible and continue to delight both them and all passersby. Both families are an example that only the sky is the limit when skilled hands and a little creativity come together.
Photo: Ivana Topic
