The Slovak Year

 

 

Living in Slovakia for so many years I learned their beautiful year traditions and customs, some of them religious celebrations, other state celebrations and some related only to our church. 

The Slovak year starts on 1 january not only with the New Year but it is alos the Slovak National Day, as Slovakia was formed on 1 January 1993 after the fall of the Czechoslovak federation. Ussually people are visinting their families and eating lentil soup, the lentils being s symbol of abundance and money, so that the new year will be a good one. 

On the 6th of January the Slovaks are celebrating the 3 kings, people write on their doors with chalk the name of the three kings. 

Fasiangy it's the time before the start of the fast period. it is a period of parties for adults and karnevals for little children. We annually have a party and a karneval in our church. Also all the schools are organizing a carnival for the children, they all dress in costumes and have fun for a few hours. 

Post or fasting period is the 40 days before Easter where the catholics are trying to eat less and they ussualy give us some type of food, or give up something they like.

Ash wednesday, the first day of the fast, believers go to church to receive a cross from ashes on their forehead.

Easter workshop for children, usually 1 or 2 weeks before Easter. We organise it in our church, the children meet and make postcards, they paint easter eggs and other craft for the upcomming celebration.

 

Kvetna nedela or the Palm Sunday, the believers go to church and receive willow branches, it symbolizes the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem and the beggining of the Easter week. The branches are bought home and we use them on the Easter dinner table, then we keep them for one year until next Ash Wednesday when we burn them to get the ashes.

Green thursday is the thursday before the Easter, there is a day of fasting where the people eat only vegetables, mostly green. The traditional meal which is offered in restaurants and schools and cantinas all over the country is spinach with egg and boiled potatoes.

 

Velky piatok (Big Friday) is the Easter friday, when Jesus was crucified. The cross is exposed in the church and believers are coming to kiss the cross, it is a day of black fasting, the young and healthy believers tries not to eat anything the whole day.

Easter is one of the greatest celebration in Slovakia. After the Easter mass in the church, the people are at home enjoying a great meal, the usual are lamb steak, boiled ham with horseradish sauce, colored eggs, chocolate eggs and little chocolate bunnies. There are people who traditionally paint eggs into real works of art.
 

Easter Monday, there is famous for the Veľkonočná šibačka alebo polievačka, the girls in the villages dress in national costumes and the boys throw water on them and only symbolically whip them with a wooden whip called sibacka.

Every year at mother's day and father's day our church organizes a picnic, we gather on the playground that belongs to the church. The children played, the parents sit and talk, we have beer and juice and soda. There is a small fire where we can grill sauseges and meat and cheese. We eat the sausages with bread and mustard or ketchup. We laugh and play until late in the evening.

 

The night of the churches or noc kostolov, the churches are opened for anybody who wants to visit, there are snacks offered and in the courtyeard there are games prepared for little children. You can visit all the artefacts in the churches, the bell tower, the pastoral centers, the crypts. There are usually guests coming to visit and speak or even singer to give concerts inside the churches.

 

Food Fest is done mostly suring the maj month, it is up in the garden near the Bratislava castle. The whole place is full of food stands from almost all the restaurants in the city. There are all types of food, from trasditional slovak food like cabbage soup and grilled sausages, stews and meaty good foods. There are also chinese and italian and snacks. There are cookies and chocolate, traditional trdelnik and cut up fruit cups. There is a program where famous cooks come and cook in front of the audience. People sit on arranged benches and enjoy the food. There are programs for little children with prises. 

 

1 June, the day of the children is celebrated all over the country, in the parks, mall and shops, everywhere are installed lunaparks and bumper cars, the cinema's are showing cartoon and children's movies. There are concerts for children from our famous groups like Spievankovo, Fiha Tralalaor Miros Maros. All the malls have toys all over the place or expositions, last year there was a stone age exposition in the Polus Mall and a dinosaur one in the Central mall.

 

Blessing of the cars, every July on the celebration of the St. Cristofer people can bring their cars, bycicles and scooters to have them blessed at the church 

 

Hody are actually the celebration of the saint of the church or patron of the city. For our part of the city is St. Mary-Magdalene, our mair and the priest are arranging a hooly mass in the park, after the mass there is a open park with atractions for children, bounving castles and face painting, food and drinks for adults, shops with toys.

 

Dusicky, all saints day, all the people are visiting their relatives graves, they clean it and put candles and fresh flowers on them. In the evening you can see the candles shining in the cemeteries as you pass by. 

Lampiony or lamps, children make home made lamps from pumpkins or from paper or from other objects, the whole neighborhood meets and they walk around in the dark with the lamps, it is symbolic of the all saints day.

 

Christmas markets are opened at the end of november, they are the most beautiful part of the yeas. There are full stands with food and punch and toys, with ginger bread, books, christmas decorations and millions of other christmass products. There is a wonderful christmassy atmosphere, the are carolls being sang, there is a skating ringa and christmass tress with beautiful decorations. The smell of the food is amazing and inviting, there are people lauthing and walking around, shopping or drinking, thereare are tables all around where you can sit and enjoy yourself.

Live Bethleeem and workshop for children. At the middle of december we are organizing a live Bethleem, with Jozef and May and the 3 kings, live sheeps and a manger. There are snacks and punch, also a worshop for children where they make christmas cards, christmas decorations and paitings. There is also a bazaar where people can sell hand made decorations, old books or toys they have at home, home made foods like chismas biskits, honey, jams.

 

 

 

 

St. Nicholas is celebrated on 6 December, children are receiving gift in their shoes or directly from the saint himself.

 

Christmas is one of the most important and beautiful holiday in slovakia, it is spread in 3 days stedry den, chirstmas day and st. Steven or the family day.

Stedry den is called the generous day, because after the beautiful mass in the church the people gather and have a evening meal. The traditional is cabbage soup, fried fish with potatoe salad and christmass cookies. After the dinner the presents are given, in Slovakia Santa Claus does not come, the presents are brought by Jezisko, that is the little baby Jesus.

Christmas day the families are visiting each other and enjoy a meal togheter, there is the Christmas mass in the morning.

St. Steven day or family day we are visiting the grandparents again and we enjoy snitzels with potatoes and rice.

Silvester is the celebration of the end of the year, the New Years Eve. We usually sit home with the family and watch the fireworks, eat pizza and cake and drink champagne. The younger people are gathering in the center near the Danube, sing togheter, drink punch and boiled wine and welcome the new year with fireworks and concerts and dancing.