In the morning of Christmas Eve a young, straight oak tree is selected and felled by the head of the household. A log is cut from it and is referred to as the badnjak. In the evening, the badnjak is ceremoniously put on the domestic fire that burns on the house's fireplace called "ognjište", whose hearth is without a vertical surround. The burning of the "badnjak" is accompanied by prayers to God so that the coming year may bring much happiness, love, luck, riches, and food. Since most houses today have no "ognjište" on which to burn a "badnjak", it is symbolically represented by several leaved oak twigs. For the convenience of people who live in towns and cities, they can be bought at marketplaces or received in churches.