HOLIDAYS MADE FOR sLOVEnia

Preseren's work

Slovenia takes the problem of extended winter grey and cold by the horns. February is a big month for celebrating and merrymaking. Februray 14^th, Valentine’s Day, is of course celebrated in sLOVEnia, and winter carnival, a week of pure fun and games, is in late February or early March (a Slovene version of Mardi Gras without all the beads and ETOH). But there is another big February holiday, called “cultural day” or Preseren Day. It is February 8^th , was established in 1944, and is the day Slovene’s remember their great poet France Preseren, born December 3, 1800, died February 8, 1849. And since this country takes it culture very seriously, they take this holiday very seriously. “What Shakespeare is to the English, Racine to the French, Dante to the Italians, Goethe to the Germans, Pushkin to the Russians, and Mickiewicz to the Poles, Preseren is to the Slovenes.” This is how Josip Stritar described Preseren’s place in Slovene literature in 1866, and this view still holds today.

Preseren Day is marked by roses at the feet of the many poets that grace the city squares, being a “work-free” day throughout the country, lots of activity and socializing in the city centre, film festivals, ballets and plays, fireworks, and a Ljubljanski Grad light show.

France Preseren wrote of love, and Slovene nationalism. His political poem “A Toast” (Zdrayljica) is one of his best known. It was written in 1844 during the period of tight censorship in the former Austrian monarchy of which Slovenia was a part. The poem was initially censored, thus was not published until after the fall of Metternich’s absolutism and the removal of censorship in 1848.

The poem’s utility has been timeless though, and it was also important during the 1941-1945 Italian, then German, occupation, as well as in during the history of the formation of an independent Slovenia in 1991-1992,, and as an EU country in 2004. This timelessness made it the natural choice for the Slovene National Anthem in 1991. The seventh verse serves as the Slovene National Anthem.

Spet trte so rodile,	The vintage, friends, is over,
prijat'li, vince nam sladkó,	And here sweet wine makes, once again,
ki nam oživlja žile,	Sad eyes and hearts recover
srce razjásni in oko,	Puts fire into every vein.
ki utopi	Drowns dull care
vse skrbi,	Everywhere
v potrtih prsih up budi!	And summons hope out of despair.
Komú narpred veselo	To whom with acclamation
zdravico, bratje! čmo zapét'?	And song shall we our first toast give?
Bog našo nam deželo,	God save our land and nation
Bog živi ves slovenski svet,	And all Slovenes where'er they live,
brate vse,	Who own the same
kar nas je	Blood and name,
sinov sloveče matere!	And who one glorious Mother claim.
V sovražnike 'z oblakov	Let thunder out of heaven
rodú naj naš'ga trešči gróm,	Strike down and smite our wanton foe!
prost, ko je bil očakov,	Now, as it once had thriven,
naprej naj bo Slovencov dom;	May our dear realm in freedom grow.
naj zdrobé	May fall the last
njih roké	Chains of the past
si spone, ki jim še težé!	Which bind us still and hold us fast!
Edinost, sreča, sprava	Let peace, glad conciliation,
k nam naj nazaj se vrnejo;	Come back to us throughout the land!
otrók, kar ima Slava,	Towards their destination
vsi naj si v róke sežejo,	Let Slavs henceforth go hand-in-hand!
de oblast	Thus again
in z njo čast,	Will honour reign
ko préd, spet naša bode last!	To justice pledged in our domain.
Bog žívi vas Slovenke,	To you, our pride past measure,
prelepe, žlahtne rožice;	Our girls! Your beauty, charm and grace!
ni take je mladenke,	There surely is no treasure
ko naše je krvi dekle;	To equal maidens of such race.
naj sinóv	Sons you'll bear,
zarod nov	Who will dare
iz vas bo strah sovražnikov!	Defy our foe no matter where.
Mladenči, zdaj se pije	Our hope now, our to-morrow -
zdravica vaša, vi naš up;	The youths - we toast and toast with joy.
ljubezni domačije	No poisonous blight or sorrow
noben naj vam ne usmŕti strup;	Your love of homeland shall destroy.
ker po nas	With us indeed
bode vas	You're called to heed
jo sŕčno bránit klical čas!	Its summons in this hour of need.
Živé naj vsi naródi,	God's blessing on all nations,
ki hrepené dočakat dan,	Who long and work for that bright day,
da, koder sonce hodi,	When o'er earth's habitations
prepir iz svéta bo pregnan,	No war, no strife shall hold its sway;
da rojak	Who long to see
prost bo vsak,	That all men free,
ne vrag, le sosed bo mejak!	No more shall foes, but neighbours be.
Nazadnje še, prijatlji,	At last to our reunion -
kozarce zase vzdignimo,	To us the toast! Let it resound,
ki smo zato se zbrat'li,	Since in this great communion
ker dobro v srcu mislimo;	By thoughts of brotherhood we're bound
dókaj dni	May joyful cheer
naj živí	Ne'er disappear
vsak, kar nas dobrih je ljudi!	From all good hearts now gathered here

Preseren and his Muse,

with roses at their feet

Maximarket Holiday Chocolates

( The real reason behind the "I Feel sLOVEnia" tourist slogan)

Bread is the staff of life

Atop the Posta sLOVEnija

February in the Ljubljana market

Winter in a bin

Winter skies