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Tokajík

Tokajík sme navšívili pri západe slnka, symbolickom pietnom počasí.

Masaker a vypálenie si v dedine pripomínajú 19. novembra. Múzeum Tokajíckej tragédie sa nachádza na okraji dediny, oproti cintorínu s pamätníkom.

Autorom pamätníka je Fraňo Gibala, ktorý vytvoril aj sochu Janka Kráľa v bratislavskom Sade Janka Kráľa.

Boli sme tu v júli 2013.

#tokajik #stropkov #zemplin

Slovakia looks like a fairy tale.

#slovakia #Slovak #Slovaks do it best #kosice #zemplin #travel #laphotigraphiee #yizbith

A Very Slovak Easter

I spent Easter Sunday and Monday in Slovakia with family (Rodina, Slovak/Czech for family). If you’re an outsider the Slovak (and Czech) Easter traditions seem a little…well different or strange. On Easter Monday in Slovakia the gentlemen in the villages come to pour water (called oblievačka) on and whip the single ladies with willow whips (šibačka). The willow whips are decorated brightly and sold all over the Czech and Slovak Republics around Easter. They are called korbáč. These traditions can seem a bit strange (and unfair) because the men are normally rewarded with painted eggs (kraslica) and a shot of traditional (normally homemade) alcohol or sweets plus the women seem to get the short end of the stick. In the Czech Republic (or at least Prague) they skip oblievačka. Each practice serves a purpose, the water is supposed to insure health and beauty or to “cleanse the soul” for the rest of the year. Each village has a slightly different reason for oblievačka and šibačka either way it is supposed to bring something good for the girls. My family did not spare anyone with the water, we all got wet this morning. I missed out on the Easter whipping which is supposed to bring fertility. The names of these traditions do have some slight differences in spelling or name in different regions. If you want more information on these traditions you can look at these sites which also have some photos and videos:

http://www.welcometobratislava.eu/traditional-easter-in-slovakia/

http://slovake.eu/en/intro/slovakia/culture

http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_holidays/easter/

Often men and women dress up in traditional dress called kroje for Easter. The kroje is very special because each is different and specific to the region and many times village the wearer is from. They also vary based on if the wearer is married or not. Traditionally, you can learn a lot about a person from the kroj they wear. Some people consider Zemplín kroje to be the best example of traditional Slovak kroje, but of course I might be biased here being that my family roots are in Zemplín. Kroje is also the name of the Czech folkwear although the tradition there is not as strong especially in Bohemia (where Prague is). Moravia has a stronger tradition of kroje in the Czech Republic and are known for their especially unique kroje. Many Czechs stopped wearing kroje in the early 1900’s whereas Slovaks held on to the tradition longer. The folk culture of Slovakia and the Czech Republic is really something worth looking into especially if you find yourself in either country. Here is a video of a Slovak folk dance group from Micholovce, Zemplín: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHj0BSvQK5Y

You can see a great example of the variety of kroje even within one region from this video.