Slovaks and Christmas Traditions

The Mystique of a Slovak Bazaar

The Christmas Bazaar and its preparations are reminiscent of "zabijacky" or the "slaughter of pigs", carried out every fall in Slovak towns. Carefully tended and fattened throughout the year, the pigs would provide meat to feed the family the whole year. This was a big event in every small town, and everyone in the neighbourhood would participate in this ritual together. Everyone knew exactly how much fresh meat would be prepared and who would be in charge of the whole process. The work was divided into "man’s work" and "woman’s work", with each group fulfilling specific but crucial roles, demanding strenuous work, precision and teamwork. It was a time when family and friends bonded in a true community spirit. Every year, in late fall, the ritual was repeated. There was the selection and mixture of the right herbs and spices, the meticulous process of making the sausages and preparing other specialty meats. An enormous amount of time was spent discussing - and arguing about - the proper way of getting all the work done by sunset on that special evening.

The smoke house is full of freshly made klobasy. The table is full of fresh noodles .. and crafts.

As we plan our annual Christmas bazaar, meeting to discuss preparations for the big day, it is today’s microcosm of that long-ago small-town tradition. Done on a smaller scale, in many ways easier and much less strenuous, it still mirrors the dynamics of a ritual known well to us all - or our parents and grandparents, at least. The biggest difference with our bazaars is that perhaps we spend less time debating how we are going to do the work, since we generally repeat procedures used in earlier years, perfecting them with experience. Still, we have the opportunity to get together and step into childhood memories that bind us to our Slovak heritage, to relive the long ago experiences and memories. With each bazaar, we always wonder if it will be a success, if we still have the magic touch to pull off an enormous project that is such an event, each year, in our organization or church. Each successful bazaar gives us the feeling that we are still capable of making the perfect klobasa, jaternica, smoked bacon, which is not too hot, not too bland … just right for the season.

During the smoking of the meats or klobasa many questions come to mind. As the date of the bazaar comes closer, the topic of the day inevitably turns to the discussion and forecasting of the weather. If it rains, people will not come … "who in their right mind would travel on such a miserable day to just a bazaar", or conversely, if "it is a perfectly sunny fall day another question comes to mind "who would come to a bazaar on such a nice day that is perfect for last minute chores outside before the winter snows put everything to sleep for 3 months"? It’s a very lively debate which never is resolved until after the day of the bazaar.

As Christmas Eve approaches, the goods that were eventually purchased at the bazaar will bring childhood memories of traditional foods that are served on that special night. The taste of traditional Slovak cabbage soup or "kapusnica" that has just the right amount of smoked klobasa … still smoked the traditional way … the way that it rightly needs to be. We remember these specially prepared foods, which have become that much more significant because they are part of the tradition of the Night before Christmas. .

Continued on Next Page

Click here to visit the photo reportage of the 1997 Toronto bazaars.

... with very special thanks to Vierka Petkovsky for final editing.
All contents to this article © 1997, Ladislav Kozak, Ondro Mihal.
All comments should be forwarded
to Ondro Mihal at omihal@slovak.com.
Last update on December 21, 1997.