Slovenia Local Custom Tips by KristaB

Traditional Instrument - Accordion

There is no good festivity in Slovenia without an accordion!
Weddings, fairs, gatherings, races, sports events - if you hear an accordion, you know the cheerful crowd is near.
These two players were improving the festive atmosphere of a wonderful day in Arboretum Volcji Potok.

Intervention from a higher level

Carnival celebrations are ancient tradition dedicated to reawakening of the nature. Most recognizable character in that ritual is Kurent - creature that dances violently, shakes large bells that are hanging around it's belt and calls for Spring to wake up the nature.

These came to our primary school, because even though kids were enjoying sledging and playing with snow, their teachers have turned pages in text-books, noticed the title "Spring" and decided to call in the Kurents to take care of the situation - they need spring flowers both for poetry and biology lessons.

Traditional Homemade Pirhi Eggs

Back in the last millennium, egg paints were not so easily available, so people figured out how to make their eggs look prettier. This method is well known in many European countries.
No wonder Slovenia joined EU so easily.
You need exactly quite some onion peels - preferably red ones, then some eggs and a pot.
For decorations pick some lovely flowers and leafs, but choose soft flat ones.
Place these "stencils" on the egg, insert it carefully into a sheer nylon stocking and tie a tight knot.
Pot - layer of onion peels - eggs - onion peels
Add cold water, slowly bring to boil, cook on a low heat for 5 minutes and leave to cool in that pot.
To achieve this mesmerizing shiny effect, rub on some pork fat while the eggs are still warm.

Butara Bouquets

Children at school are making Butara bouquets, traditional offering for Easter. They are made of branches of evergreen trees and colored wooden ribbons. Available in grocerie markets and souvenir shops.

Pisanice - Fragile and Beautiful

Pisanice eggs are made by piercing the raw eggs, blowing out the content, and then decorating with ornamental patterns. Some use the scraping technique - coloring and scraping off the paint. The other, more demanding method is to cover parts that should not be colored with hot wax in several steps to achieve multicolored effect.

Pisanice eggs can be purchased in souvenir shops, they last forever - if you don't break them!

Lace - Weaving threads of past times

One of optional courses in primary school is lace making. Traditional craftsmanship is passed on through generations and is getting even more popular today. It takes a lot of patience, so I was really impressed to see kids that are usually playing with computer games enjoy such a demanding work. These two girls were showing their skill during yearly Open Doors day at our local school.