Though I never had much exposure to Slovak culture, I did grow up in an area with a large Polish population. Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw. In March, we would have a day off of school in honor of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish-born Revolutionary war hero. One of my favorite Polish traditions was when my mom would buy paczki (filled doughnuts) for Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). We do not closely observe Lent or other Christian traditions, but my family and I love to eat paczki each year. With the beginning of Lent and the passing of Fat Tuesday, I decided to further investigate Lent and Fat Tuesday in Slovakia.
As of 2017, 63% of Slovakia identified as Roman Catholic and were far more likely to regularly attend church than their largely non-religious, Czech counterparts. With their close adherence to Roman Catholic traditions, Slovaks observe Fašiangy (Winter Carnival), marking the season of celebrations and traditions performed after Traja králi (Three Kings Day) and before Popolcová streda (Ash Wednesday), the beginning of Lent. The term “Fašiangy” originates from ‘vast-shancc’, an old Germanic word, translated to “pouring of the fasting drink” (“Carnival, or Fašiangy, “Vilikovská). Slovaks refer to Lent as pôst or mjasopust (“letting go of a lot of meat”). Fašiangy represents a time of great celebrations, balls, parades, and folkdance events. Due to the dormancy of farming and the exuberance of the season, many young people get married, feasting and celebrating with their village and families for days on end. During Pôst, couples could not get married, feasts could not be hosted, and parties were strictly forbidden.
The final day of Fašiangy, called Tučný utorok, is the equivalent of Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, a day of great gluttony before a long period of piety and fasting. This time of year allowed pagan and early-Christian Slovaks to eat luxury foods as opposed to their typically high-calorie, average meals. To this day, Slovaks eat fánky (pastries filled with curd, jam, or walnuts), šišky (filled donuts), záviny (strudels) and other sweet treats. They drink whiskey, slivovica (liquor made from plums), wine, and beer. However, older generations also enjoyed medovina, alcohol made of fermented honey. Additionally, during Fašiangy, early Christian Slovaks would parade around in animal, ghost-like masks in order to rid their village of evil spirits. Other typical costumes are slameník (strawman), kurina baba (old lady), kostra (skeleton),turoň (ox), koza (goat) or vlk (wolf). The creation of a turoň is especially important as one young man sits on the shoulders of another covered with sheets and an ox head. With a procession of other people, the turoň would carry manure around to each house in order manifest a good harvest for each family. Pochovávanie Basy (burial of the double bass) marks the true end of the celebratory season as “…people dressed as priest, organ-player, gravedigger, the instrument on a hearse, and granny-weepers”. This procession functions as a transition from the jubilee of Fašiangy to the solemn nature of Pôst.
Overall, Fašiangy represents a culturally rich season and a culmination of pagan, Christian, Slovak, German and other influences. Modern-day Fašiangy is only made possible by the centuries of Christian and Pagan celebration in Slovakia. The detailed nature of this celebration and its long history truly communicates the complexity of Slovak culture, something often overlooked during the observation of Lent by Western Europeans and Americans.
The Slovak version of paczki
A turoň and his entourage
Pochovávanie Basy (burial of the double bass)
https://www.fcsu.com/fasiangy-shrovetide-prelenten-carnival-time/ ;
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