Scholars regard the "badnjak" customs as practises inherited from the old Slavic religion. In the pre-Christian religion of the Serbs, as shown by Serbian scholar Veselin Čajkanović, there were trees seen as dwelling places of spirits or divinities. Čajkanović argues that there were also trees seen as divinities "per se". He considers the "badnjak" as a convincing example of the latter. Salutations, prayers, and sacrifices such as grain, wine, and honey are offered to him (the name "badnjak" is of masculine gender in Serbian); he is consistently treated not as a tree but as a person.