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III. DAYS
OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS OF CHRISTIANS OF SLOVAKIA
BLESS LORD
KINDLY ALL THIS COUNTRY
Was the title of the
Saturday evening performance at Boinice's community center theater during
third year of "Days of carols of Christmas of Slovakia."
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In summer of 1992 I have
learned from my Martin's friend, Monika Barabasova, about the Christmas
carols festival in Bojnice. Early November of 1993, I have made a decision
to fly to Slovakia and experience the festival. I am happy that I went.
What I saw and heard was simply wonderful and finally for the first time
in my life I was able to experience the folk Christmas traditions,
customs, and carols. Soon after my arrival I have discovered that I know
almost everybody involved in the preparation and organization of the
festival, from the director and his assistants to many members of the folk
groups from different parts of Slovakia, the actors and musicians. Over
300 people participated at the festival. Seventeen folk dancing groups
from Slovakia, then there were groups from Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, and
a singer Ludmila Berediova, daughter of Lutheran Bishop from Yugoslavia.
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Before the performance
many groups set up Christmas tables in the foyer of the theater and the
public could see the differences in setting of the Christmas tables from
village to village. We did find one very interesting table from Hrusov,
Southern Slovakia with full bottle of the best ever tasting home made pear
brandy-hruskovica. We visited this table numerous times through the
afternoon rehearsal, but we were soon discovered and sadly, the bottle
rested with its owner trough the duration of the festival. Folk music Valaska
with its primas Adriana Valaskova entertained the theater goers prior
to the evening performance in the foyer between the Christmas tables. This
was so beautiful making the atmosphere really homey.
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The program started with
the arrival of the family and sitting at the table and the performance
continued as in the old days when he people would visit each other after
the Christmas diner and sing the carols and recite the Christmas well
wishes. Each group entered the stage sang a carol said a wish, received
drinks, cookies or fruit and the next group would enter. Two well-known
Slovak artists Jozef Simonovic and Jana Valocka were reciting
Christmas poems by some of the most famous Slovak writers. My friend Drahos
Dalos played the fujara, drumbla and on numerous types of whistles.
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On Sunday a very similar
performance was held at the Roman Catholic Church in Chrenovec located few
miles from Bojnice followed by afternoon performance in
Handlova, few more
miles away.
It was sunny and really
cold and in Chrenovec's Church of St. Michael there is no heat. Old folk
tale says that the villagers wanted to build the church at another
location between two hills near by, and did start gathering the rocks for
its construction, but every morning they would find the rocks moved to
this place above the village. Then they choose this location. There is a
statute of a baby carved from stone at about 40 feet from the ground It is
in the memory of the child whose mother participated in the construction
of the bell tower by carrying rocks to the top of the tower and one day
her child felled out of the locket on her back down to the ground and
didn't die. The villagers considered this to be a miracle and the statue
is there in the memory of this miraculous event. The church was filled to
the last seat and there was also display of many home made crafted wooden
Nativity scenes. The carols were different from the ones sung at Bojnice.
Many of the carols were known to everybody at the performances and
everybody did join in the singing, that was so beautiful. I guess the high
point of the singing of the Silent Night with the music played by folk
music Valaska and my by now most favored Christmas carol by folk singing
group Hajiek from Chrenovec with my friend, the mayor of Chrenovec,
Emil Trgina plating the accordion, "Daj Boh Stastia Tejto Zemi,
Bless Lord kindly all this country and the people here." This carol
was brought to life in 1989 following the discovery of a collection of
Christian Christmas pastorals of Gaspar Drost from Chrenovec, born in
1805, by Emil Trgina, artistic director of folk group Hajicek in
Chrenovec-Brusno. Later on the idea of this festival was born and this
Christmas they held its third year.
The lunch was served in
Lipnik, the next village and since it was not ready on time many of us
went to "Krcma," a local pub, for some singing and
drinking. Here I have leaned from the singers from the village of Telgart
that my friends in Vancouver, Lubo from Caklov, Eastern Slovakia and
Marienka from Telgart, Upper Hron had a baby girt Claudia Mary born on December
2. Somehow I felt that the world is really small because we had a baby
shower for Marienka on November 28, I left Canada on 29, and I got the
news of the newborn from strangers in local pub 1/2 World away.
GO
BACK TO FOLKLORE FESTIVALS
Published in the Slovak
Heritage Live newsletter Volume 2, No.1, Spring 1994
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1994
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied,
reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic,
without the express written permission of
Vladimir
Linder. All rights
reserved.
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