Festivals, Celebrations

Christmas and Easter are the biggest holidays in Slovakia. Christmas is the favorite holiday of kids – they all get presents! But it isn’t Santa Claus who gives presents to Slovak kids! No, in Slovakia, Baby Jesus comes through the window while you’re not looking. You have to be a good kid or he will skip your house!

Easter in Slovakia is really crazy. Boys visit each house in the village and whisk girls with willow twigs. But just a little! They may also sprinkle them with cold water. This is to make the girls beautiful and healthy! As a reward, they give the boys painted chicken eggs. Today, chocolate eggs are also very popular.

In Slovakia, people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. They have their own special festivals. One of them is ‘Fasiangy’- a big carnival between January and April. People celebrate the coming of spring, eat good food and have fun with their friends. But this holiday is followed by 40 days of fasting! On celebrations like these, Slovaks still sometimes wear their folk costumes.

Halloween is a serious holiday in Slovakia. People go and visit the graves of their parents, grandparents and friends. They bring candles and flowers with them. They remember and honor their family this way.