Do you know how Slovenians celebrate Easter? Our short guide explains some of Slovenia’s Easter traditions
Eggs are an important feature of the Easter celebration in many countries, and especially in Slovenia. Not only do they appear in special dinners, they are also used as decoration, and, of course, appear in the form of chocolate eggs!
Slovenes call Easter ‘Velika noč’ and have a number of customs that make it stand out from other Christian countries where Easter is celebrated. Some foreigners moving to Slovenia are disappointed to learn that Good Friday is not an official holiday in Slovenia but there is still plenty of Easter tradition. Colouring eggs with natural dyes is a widespread tradition, as is decorating a tree or bush in the garden with decorative eggs hung from coloured ribbon.
In Bela Krajina in southern Slovenia, egg decorating has been elevated to an art form and these ornately engraved and painted eggs are an important souvenir. So specialised is the craft there that different villages have their own style of decoration for the eggs.
Holy Saturday is an important part of the Easter weekend and local priests have several important tasks to carry out. One is the blessing of the fire: churchgoers take home a few glowing embers with which to light their own stoves or to light candles. In some towns and villages this is done in the public squares and is quite an event. The priests also bless the baskets of Easter food which families take to the church. The typical foods are potica – a sweet bread rolled with nuts or poppy seeds and even tarragon, horseradish, sausage and cooked ham. On Easter Sunday families get together to eat the food that has been blessed by the priest. Smoked pork, hard-boiled eggs, salted beef and special Easter buns are also eaten.
Tradition says that Slovenian church bells are sent to Rome to be rung on Good Friday and are returned to their churches on Easter Saturday when they are rung with gusto. Church bell ringing is taken very seriously in Slovenia, with distinctive types of peals being common to the different regions.
On Easter Sunday, a very different sound is heard in Gorenjska and Stajerska as young men fire small mortars and canon. The loudest firing is in Prlekija where a competition is held to see who can make the biggest racket.
Easter Monday is a public holiday and is a time when families go off to walk in the mountains and enjoy nature. After all that delicious potica, a good walk is much needed!
