Even if you've studied English for a number of years, chances are you might struggle to express the way you celebrate the most wonderful festival of the year - Christmas. The thing is that many English textbooks (and even teachers) present Christmas vocabulary typical of the English speaking countries. Whereas it is useful to know and understand what people do at Christmas in the countries whose language you learn, we live in Slovakia and we need to describe Christmas here in Slovakia as we know and this Christmas the best. Therefore, I decided to present some vocabulary items you might find helpful when describing Slovak Christmas. With the Christmas season, we traditionally associate gingerbread. But do you suspect what development the honey cakes have undergone before they got the form we know today?
Medovníky, or honey cookies, are among the oldest sweets in the history of human civilization. Once upon a time, they were simple honey cakes, which gradually acquired various forms and began to be decorated with nuts, pictures, or even small mirrors. Their true heyday came when they began to be decorated with fine white glaze. Mrs. Cingelová is one of those who not only preserve this beautiful tradition but also develop it. Her gingerbread is known not only for its beauty but also for the unmistakable taste and aroma, which are given to them by freshly ground spices with medicinal effects. Gingerbread has long been not only sweet pastries - they are carriers of messages. They express love, thanks, wishes for health, and even a personal memory. They can carry an ornament, lace pattern, name, logo, or original text.
Pre-Christmas Preparations
Let’s start with what needs to be done before Christmas. Apart from obligatory general cleaning, Slovaks often bake honey cookies. Honey cookies (sometimes called honey bread) is similar to ginger bread, but there is no ginger in it. Instead, honey is added into the dough together with aniseed, cinnamon and cloves. After baking, honey cakes are brushed with egg-white which forms nice glazing.
In many regions people eat bobaľky, pupáky or opekance as we call them. They are basically small yeast dough balls baked on a baking pan. They need to be prepared well in advance (a week or so), so they are soft when eaten.
Of course, we can´t forget Christmas markets. It is a relatively new addition to our Christmas traditions, but it caught on quickly and now almost every bigger Slovak town has one. You can treat yourself to a nice (although not necessarily healthy) traditional local specialty - roasted sausages, mulled vine, hot punch or mead.
Prečítajte si tiež: Recept na medovníky
Christmas Eve Traditions
Many Slovaks fast on Christmas Eve. This might be more of a religious thing, and although many might demur at first, the evening dinner tastes a million times better after a short period of fasting.
In many Slovak families dinner kicks off with a toast - usually a glass of wine. The toast is followed by Christmas wafers. The thin round or oval wafers often embossed with nativity motifs are eaten with honey and garlic. Sometimes an apple is cut into pieces afterwards for health. In some families carp scales are put under a tablecloth for richness or nuts are thrown into the corners of a room for abundance in a family.
Then proper food is served. It is mostly a sauerkraut soup that graces many tables in Slovakia, but some prefer lentil soup or fish soup. Sauerkraut soup is commonly eaten with diced or mashed potatoes and sliced sausage. Although it is a lovely treat for your empty stomach, you don’t want to eat too much of it as there are at least two more courses to be served. First comes fried fish with potato salad. People usually purchase carp for Christmas. Some might, however, find it a bit bony, some mind the taste. Nevertheless, fish is an essential part of the Slovak Christmas dinner, although, to be honest, I prefer battered cod fillets to carp.
The last, and I’d say a bit underappreciated, is opekance (you prepare a week in advance). They are served with melted butter, grated walnuts or ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar.
Then, after a short period of relaxation, we indulge ourselves with assortment of cakes.
Prečítajte si tiež: Medovník lepší ako Marlenka?
The Art of Medovnikárstvo
Ako figurálny medovník, vyrábaný vykrajovaním alebo vypichovaním rôznych tradičných dvojrozmerných (srdce, postavy chlapcov či dievčat v ľudových krojoch, kone, jazdci na koňoch, zvončeky, vianočné stromčeky, autá, lokomotívy, hviezdy, rôzne zvieratá, košíčky, rozprávkové postavy, štvorlístky, podkovy, kraslice, betlehemy, vianočné motívy), alebo trojrozmerných tvarov (chalúpky, dózy, kolísky, sánky, koče a povozy so záprahom či bez, knihy, rôzne zvieratá, papučky, košíčky, vianočné stromčeky) z medovníkového cesta, ktorý je po upečení potiahnutý cukrovou alebo tukovou polevou, prípadne nepoťahovaný, ale ďalej zdobený cukrovou alebo tukovou polevou. as gingerbread figures produced by cutting out or pressing out various traditional two-dimensional shapes (hearts, boys or girls in traditional costumes, horses, horse riders, bells, Christmas trees, motor cars, locomotives, stars, various animals, baskets, characters from folk-tales, four-leaved clovers, horse-shoes, Easter eggs, cribs and Christmas themes), or making three-dimensional forms (chalets, boxes, cradles, sledges, coaches and carriages, with or without horses, books, various animals, slippers, baskets, cribs and Christmas trees), from gingerbread dough.
Historical Context and Evolution
Medovníky are actually the oldest sweet pastries known to the Egyptians. They were made of flour and honey, which is why medovnikárstvo naturally followed beekeeping, and in the museum, you will also find various types of honey and beehives. Men baked more spicy gingerbread, while women made them more decorated. Today, we let the gingerbread dough rest for about a day, but did you know that in the past it was left to rest for several months to years? It was stored in barrels in the basement, where the fermentation process gave the gingerbread a characteristic aroma.
The exhibition in Michalovce presents remarkable wooden historical forms from the 18th and 19th centuries. Medovnikárske forms and gingerbread have been subject to various fashion trends over the centuries. Motives with religious themes were gradually replaced by motives of ordinary objects of secular life. Hearts were bought as a love gift, the period of wars even brought the forms of pistols and soldiers on gingerbread.
Cultural Significance and Modern Interpretations
Letné víkendy vo Vlkolínci sú viac než len podujatie - sú stretnutím s minulosťou, ktorú môžete chytiť do ruky. Letné víkendy vo Vlkolínci sú oslavou tradičných remesiel - a tento víkend bude obzvlášť voňavý. During the weekend in Vlkolínec, you will be able to see how gingerbread is created - from dough, through shaping, to decorating. Maybe you will even try to decorate them yourself. From July to September, we invite you to a series of events Vlkolínec in the summer of 2025, where crafts, folklore, and nature meet in unique harmony.
Prečítajte si tiež: Ako upiecť tradičný medovník