Staro in novo leto (The Old and The New Year)
The Slovenes call the last day of the year The Old Year or Sylvester's Evening. In the past New Year's Day was the time of »koledniki« – carol singers. They tried to protect the country by singing songs and making noise. They also wanted to ensure a good crop along with health and happiness in the new year. In Slovenia carol singers were groups of villagers and village musicians who went from one house to another wishing a happy New Year to everybody.
When the New Year begins, cleanliness in the house is vital – it dictates how the whole year would be. On this day people should not get involved in a quarrel or have any debts. Nobody should be hungry, for if they are, they will suffer from hunger the whole year long. If the weather is fine on New Year's day, then everything will be right in the coming year. An old proverb claims: »As things are on New Year's day, such they will be the whole year long«.
On the last day of the year there are dance parties, cultural programmes and noisy events which are highlighted with firework displays at midnight. This is how it looks outwards. Intimately, people adjust accouns with themselves before entering the New Year.
Pust (Shrovetide)
Shrovetide represents the departure of winter, the customs connected with this time of the year are meant to call spring and chase away winter. A part of the celebration is also making noise with mortars or cracking the whips which is supposed to chase away winter and evil forces. The burial of Mardi Gras means the burial of winter. Nowadays the original meaning of this ancient custom is often forgotten.
The old belief that a visit by masked people brings good luck and good crops is now turning into a happy holiday, full of laughing, jokes and carnival parades. Shrovetide is a merry time especially for children because they dress up and go from house to house where they get sweets, money and above all doughnuts which at that time mustn't be missing from a table in any Slovenian home.
Kramarski cvetni sejem (Flower market)
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This is a traditional market which has been taking place in Slovenska Bistrica for more than 50 years, always on Friday the week before Easter. We also call it Flower Friday. People can buy there pottery, gingerbread, honey, mead, clothes, knitted baskets … and of course a lot of trumpery. People also buy olive branches that are taken to church on Palm Sunday to be blessed in memory of Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem.
Velika noč (Easter)
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After the Palm Sunday the Easter week begins. On Easter Saturday people take the prepared food to church for Easter blessing. In the basket there is usually ham, bread, Easter eggs, horseradish, sausages and »potica« – a cake consisting of a sheet of pastry, spread with a rich filling and rolled up.
The most important Easter symbols are Easter eggs – pirhi. On Sunday, Easter, there is an early church mass and then the feast with blessed food follows. Every family member and also the household animals should get a piece of it.
Vintage time
Some sorts of wines that grow in Slovenia produce delicious wine. The vintage has always been the most important event in October. As vintage time came near, the farmers started to look for workers who would help them pick grapes. The beginning of the vintage was announced by a shot from a mortar. Grape -pickers bring grapes in enourmous wooden tubs. For each filled pail a grape - picker makes a notch in a stick. At the end of the day he knows exactly how many pails he brought and the landowner can assess the crop.
In the past grapes were mashed in wooden tubs. At night when mashing grapes felt cold,they started hitting the floor with a hoe more and more frequently. The landowner understood that message and brought them home-made brandy.
During the vintage there is a merry atmosphere everywhere.They forgot about all their problems, joining in a happy drinking song.
Dan spomina na mrtve
(All Saints Day – 1st November)
This is the day dedicated to the memory of all the saints, nowadays meaning all the deceased beloved ones. This holiday has its origin back in the Roman time. It has also got a Christian origin, when a Pope Gregory IV chose this date to celebrate the All Saints Day. On this day people in Slovenia put flowers and candles on the graves all over the country. The symbol of a candle’s light is chasing away the darkness on the other side of the grave.
Martinovo
(St. Martin’s Day – 11th November)
This is the day when must becomes wine. It is a very joyous holiday, when people try the quality of the wine crop. Almost every town in Slovenia celebrates it. There are some small distinctions between them, but back in the days people celebrated it with a special ritual dish – St. Martin’s goose and St. Martin’s porridge and of course the new wine. Nowadays, there are still families which hold the tradition; many restaurants offer it on the day’s menu.
Božič (Christmas – 25th December)
Christmas is a typical family holiday. On Christmas Eve we decorate the Christmas tree. At the beginning of the First World War the Christmas tree was unknown in Slovenia. This custom came to us from Germany. Housewifes prepare honey cakes, a special walnut and raisins roll cake called potica and rye or buckwheat bread with fruit added.
One of the most noticeable symbols of the Christmas festivities is the setting up of the Christmas crib. In past centuries Nativity cribs were the centre of the Christmas spirit and families gathered around them to pray and sing on Christmas Eve, Christmas day and Christmas night. Nowadays some families prepare a crib, others decorate a Christmas tree. Some of them do both, others do nothing. But every year at Christmas time there is a beautiful song Silent Night echoing through villages and towns.