Multicultural society - Slovak holidays

Slovak society

Since 1989 Slovakia has become a country open to people from other countries. Apart from Slovaks, the territory is inhabited by over half a million Hungarians in the south of Slovakia, along with the Ruthenians in the east., then of course other minorities : Vietamese, Ukrainians, Czechs , Poles and there is one minority which is which is significantly different from other people – Romanies (gypsies)

ROMANIES

originated somewhere in India
in the past – they travelled in caravans frim one place to another pulled by horses
they were good musicians, horse traders, fortunate tellers
nowadays – they have big families
many of them are unemployed so they try to earn money by selling friuts or mushrooms which they collect in the forrest
some of them gain money by stealing (that’s why people don’t like them)
their lifestyle is different from other Slovaks – their living conditions are really poor and not very nice
our society tries to integrate them into the society by educating the children but it is rather hard since their parents are not a right role models. It is really hard to teach them the principles of good conduct if they can’t se them at home

HUNGARIANS

some of them have a problem to speak proper Slovak or even some of them can’t speak Slovak. They want to have their own school (Hungarian) school, they want bilingual (Hungarian -Slovak) signs everywhere

What’s your opinion on this issue?

Customs and traditions typical for the area you live in

SLOVAK HOLIDAYS

International Workers’ Day

(a name used interchangeably with may day) is celebrated on 1st May. In the past there were organized street demonstrations and street marches by millions of working people. Nowadays there are some markets and cultural events in the towns and cities.

Day of victory over fascism

is celebrated on 8th May

Mother’s day

is celebrated in May, children give gifts to their mothers to express their love.

St. Cyril and Methodius Day

Slavic missionaries Cyril(Constantine) and Method (Methodius) came to Great Moravia.

Slovak National Uprising (SNP)

The Slovak rose against fascists

Day of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic

The constitution of independent Slovakia has been adopted in Bratislava

All Saint’s Day

(1st November) on this day we remember members of our families who died. On this day people go to the cemetery and put wreaths on the graves and light up the candles, all members of the family gathers.

Struggle for freedom and Democracy day

the student demonstration in 1989 in Prague was the beginning of the Velvet Revolution due to the communist regime was declined.

St. Nicholas Day

we celebrate on December 5th. Children dressed up like the good St. Nicholas with angels and devils go from house to house and children must say whether or not they have been good the whole year. If not they have to either sing a song or say a poem. Next morning well-behaved children find a bag with sweets on their windows. Bad children can get instead of sweets only coal or potatoes.

Christmas

the preparation (cleaning house, baking Christmas sweets) and decoration of our houses starts four weeks before Christmas (the advent period). The main day is Christmas Eve (24th December) – Christmas dinner consists of: soup (lentil / fish / sauerkraut), fried fish (carp), potatoes salad, thin waffles (pancakes) with honey, fruit, cakes. After dinner children open their presents which Little Jesus put under the Christmas tress. At midnight families usually go to midnight mass.

Christmas Day

(25th December) (First Christmas holiday)– people visit their relatives and relax together.

St. Stephen’s Day (26th December)(Second Christmas holiday)– also a day of rest and relax.

New Year’s Eve

people celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of a coming year, there are a lot of parties throughout the country.

Easter

is a religious holiday. It celebrates the resurrection(zmŕtvychvstanie) of Jesus Christ. There is a forty-day period of Lent which starts after the Shrove Day (there are parties on which we burry a contrabass – that means the end music, parties, balls). The Eater week starts with:
- Moundy Thursday (Zelený Štvrtok), Good Friday (Veľký Piatok), Holly
- Saturday (Biela Sobota), Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
- On Easter Monday morning boys go around with a rod or a whip decorated with ribbons in order to beat girl. Girls then reward boys by giving them some coloured Easter egg, something to eat or drink.

The symbols of Easter are also the symbol of spring – a lamb or yellow chick.