A tradition that hasn’t been seen in the Nesquehoning community for nearly 40 years was resurrected Monday during a special presentation between St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church and the Nesquehoning Historical Society.

The Jaslickari or more commonly known in this area as the Pastyri or Bethlehemites, was held as part of a Christmas tradition talk by historian Vince Hydro.

The Pastyri is a group of men who dress up as shepherds, angels and the Old Man, or Guba, which represents today’s modern age Santa, and go around carrying a replica of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church to homes of parishioners on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“We would start off here on Christmas Eve, say around 6 o’clock and we would start at the west end of town and go to every parishioner that we could until midnight. At Midnight Mass we would bring the church up and put it near the altar steps and stay for Mass and go home,” Dave Matsinko said. “We would come back the next day at 1 o’clock and start at the priest’s house and then do the other section of town. We walked to every house of our parishioners.”

“As a child, I couldn’t wait for them to come and sing and do the skit,” St. John parishioner Nancy Kerestus said, adding that her father participated in the tradition in the 1940s. “It was such a tradition. You’d sing the songs with them. Just listening to them practice today was giving me goose bumps and tears.”

The tradition started in Europe over a century ago and continued in the Nesquehoning community for decades, almost as a rite of passage for boys as they became men.

Matsinko, who served in the Pastyri when he was a young man, explained that the boys, from approximately seventh grade through college would partake in this tradition.

“It was an honor to do this,” he said. “My older brother did it. I did it and when we got older, we didn’t have enough kids to carry on the tradition.” He said that the parishioners have talked about bringing it back for years, but finally it became a reality.

The men, who consisted of Ed Kerestus, Andy and David Hudock, Jack Chodur, Matsinko, Harold Henry and Richard Hallahan, wore the original gowns that were used decades ago and carried the replica church from St. John to the historical society two blocks away, stopping at one resident’s home to partake in a blessing that would happen during the event.

Matsinko said the angels, wearing pink robes, carried the church, while the rest of the men dressed in blue and white served as shepherds because they were the guardians of the flocks. The Guba or Old Man was dressed in a traditional red robe, much like today’s Santa, but represented St. Nicholas. The men also carried staffs and an ax to bring attention to the presentation.

Nancy Kerestus said that this is a dream come true for this tradition to be brought back. She pointed out that it last occurred in the early 1980s.

“It’s awesome to see this,” she said. “Everyone is so excited because it has been so long. We hope that it brings new people to the church who had never seen it before and hope they become a part of us.”

The men, once arriving at the historical society, then recited the skit and songs in the native tongue and English, for those in attendance.

Hydro then provided additional information on the tradition, and Matsinko provided musical selections for Christmas throughout the last century.