Wishing you all a very Happy Easter-at-home and with your loved ones via your screens!
Easter in Slovenia brings back centuries-old traditions which have been passed on through the generations, and are still strong today. Although most Slovenians aren’t exactly devout adherents to Catholicism, Easter is still the most important holiday in the country. It’s considered more religious and more serious than Christmas.
But amid the coronavirus crisis, this Easter will be very different for the thousands of Christians in Slovenia, as strict rules social-distancing and mass gathering rules remain in place and churches are closed. Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. Some churches are streaming live services over Easter and people are also able to worship using conference calls and other modern technology.
Easter festivities and processions may be cancelled but there’s no reason why we all can’t celebrate in the comfort of our own homes and keep the spirit of Easter alive with family-friendly activities and colourful Easter decorations. Of course, there’s also fun with Easter eggs. Rather than an Easter-egg ‘hunt’, in Slovenia there’s an Easter egg ‘fight’. Everyone chooses an egg from a basket and hits it against their adversary’s egg. The winner is the one who emerges with an intact egg.
No matter if you’re religious or not, Easter in Slovenia is also a culinary gathering of the whole family. On Easter Sunday the whole family gathers together for a traditional Easter breakfast, the most abundant breakfast and the culinary highlight of the year. Slovenia’s traditional Easter food consists of smoked ham, horseradish, bread, coloured hard boiled eggs, and potica (rolled sweetbread).
As the Easter is informally referred to by many as ‘the Slovene eating holiday’, we thought it would be a good time to share an authentic recipe for a traditional Slovenian Easter breakfast. Do give it a try: Traditional Slovenian Easter Breakfast
A traditional Slovenian Easter breakfast includes eggs, ham, horseradish and Potica (a Slovenian sweetbread). (Food photography: Mateja Jordovic Potocnik, Cooking and food styling: Branka Vodovc and Spela Vodovc, Design: Gregor Zakelj)
Happy Easter and please stay safe.