FESTIVALS

Martinovo
11th

of November
We prepare a roasted duck, red
cabbage and mlinci (type of pancakes).
Grape juice turns to proper wine.
Restaurants and wine keepers prepare a
party with these foods and also a funny
blessing of the wine.

Valentines day
We

buy small presents for our loved ones,

like flowers, chocolate hearts, teddy
bears.
At the same time the local holiday is
Gregorjevo when birds are getting
married.

Borovo gostvanje pine

wedding
When

nobody (no girl) in a village gets

married from December till February, then
they marry that girl to a pine tree unless
she finds herself a groom. This way the
people have a wedding and a party
anyway.

1st of May
A

may pole is erected in each village.

Young people of the village are
responsible for the decoration and
preparation of this event. Villages
compete to erect the highest maypole.
Young men climb on it to. On the 1st of
May eve they light a bonfire and have a
party near the maypole. This tradition
originates from the festivities prepared
when young men returned from the army.

WEDDING
A

big party for all the family / village

Pozvain invites the guests to a wedding.
This is a mask with ribbons and a trumpet.
A gipsy woman and other masks come to
the party uninvited. Then they tell jokes
and make people laugh.
The bride and the groom must not dance
before midnight.

A BIRTH OF A BABY
When

a baby is born the neighbours or

friends throw hay, straw, feathers and
other dirt in front of the house. This way
they inform the people that a baby was
born here. This originates from the past
when local priests had bastard children
with unmarried girls and the local new
who the father is, so they pawed the road
from the house of the baby to the house
of the father.

FOLKLORE
Folklore

dancing is very popular. There are

many groups that dance traditional
dances and even young children learn to
dance folklore dances. Each August a
folkore festival is prepared and dancers
from all over Europe come to Beltinci.

WINE HARVEST
In

September the grapes are picked and

juiced. This is labour intensive work that
needs to be done within days so many
people come to help. The people are
served a local dish called bujta repa - a
thick stew with turnip and pork. A party
can last until the next morning.

ABRAHAM
The

50th birthday.
A big party for all the friends and family.
Usually friends gather to decorate the
house with a 50 sign or a rag doll. They
come early in the morning and sing under
the bedroom window to wake up the
Abraham.