The Slovaks have always held bread in high esteem. The old custom of welcoming precious guests with bread and salt is still alive, and so is dožinky (a celebration of cereal harvest) at the end of the summer, which stemmed from a mixture of pagan rituals and religious beliefs associated with gathering in of cereal crops. Under … Continue reading With bread and wine in Trebišov
June is observed as the month of hunter's guild and nature conservation in Slovakia. However strange it may sound to some ears, the two things are not mutually exclusive. It all depends on what sort of hunters we are talking about, and what we see as nature conservation. As a girl growing up in the … Continue reading Hunters Days
Summer is an ideal time for outdoor parties. We in Slovakia love them. They often take the form of cooking competitions like the one I described in the post on Goulash parties last year. But it's not only goulash that you can get to taste when touring Slovakia in the summer. A long thread of … Continue reading Cooking in the great outdoors
It's very common in Slovakia to have open-air cooking competitions and parties that bring together villagers and town folk alike to enjoy traditional Slovak food, as well as have fun. The goulash party season typically starts at the turn of April and May when the days are getting longer and the weather is warm enough … Continue reading Goulash parties
