Folk Culture and Communism
Posted by Margarete on Jul 16
Back in April I had the unique opportunity to speak at the Slovak Embassy in Washington DC. I was invited by the Slovak-American Society of Washington DC to talk about my experiences in Slovakia and about my book. I thought a long time about what I wanted to talk about and in the end I gave a speech about the characteristics that I think make Slovaks unique from other European ethnicities.
The first characteristic I talked about is in my opinion is one of the most significant characteristics that separates Slovaks from other Europeans: the strong sense of folk culture. By folk culture I mean the music, dance, song, and art local to a particular region or country.
I’ve always loved decorated Easter eggs. Usually at home in California my mom would buy one of those egg coloring kits where you dropped tablets into a glass of vinegar, or something like that, and once we colored the eggs a solid color, we’d put stickers on them or draw a design with crayons. That’s great fun for kids. But later on I learned that painting and decorating eggs could be an art form.
If you spend time with Slovaks, sooner or later you will gain first-hand experience with tvrdý alkohol – hard alcohol. Typically, it could be connected with a toast on a special occasion, or some type of home-made schnapps could be on hand as a drink of choice of people you are spending time with.
Surnames in any language can be interesting, particularly when their meaning is easily understood. When I began to learn Slovak and my vocabulary began to expand, I realized that I understood the meanings of many surnames. In English, for example, surnames that are derived from professions, such as Smith or Miller, are simple to comprehend. Descriptive names such as Black or Green are also easy to understand though a name like Jozef Slaný – Joseph Salty still sounds odd to me.
While living in Slovakia, I was enthusiastic about taking part in customs and traditions, particularly surrounding the holidays. I expected that Christmas and Easter would be significant occasions of the year, and they were, but I never imagined that the holiday that would touch me the most would be All Saints’ Day.
Once a year, a person celebrates an anniversary of a special date that is unique to the individual. A birthday? Well, yes, but in Slovakia there is another event that is notable—the name-day. The name-day is important and is often celebrated similarly to a birthday. A person might get a small gift, flowers or even a cake. What is expected is to wish the person celebrating a name-day “Všetko najlepšie” – “All the best”, and a handshake, or a kiss on both cheeks if you are close to that person.
Last week I read an 
