Christmas is a major holiday here, with three days declared as national holidays: December 24, 25, and 26. In the U.S., only December 25 is a national holiday, although many offices close early the day before. According to the government's most recent statistics, the population is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic (68.9%), with atheism second (13%), and all others in the single digits: Protestant (9.1%), Greek-Catholic (4.1%), Jewish (0.04%), unknown (3%).
The Christmas Bazaar officially closed yesterday, so I was curious to see what was left. The performing stages have already been removed, but the booths are still there. One hold-out on Hviezdoslavovo námestie was still open selling food.
The Bazaar on Main Square was completely closed down - just some families, dog-owners, and tourists out for walks. 
The Delikateso on Main Square was open today, and quite busy. Almost all the other restaurants and cafes in town are closed today. McDonald's is closed today and tomorrow, re-opening December 26. The main restaurants at the Radisson and the Hotel Danube (the luxury hotel by the German Embassy) are open for the duration. 
Almost all the stores are closed, too - no last-minute shopping marathons of the kind familiar in the U.S. The jeweler just south of Main Square is open today for last-minute gifts, if your shopping list includes Rolex. 
The jeweler is in the pale green building that workers were scrambling to finish back on November 23, the day before the Bazaar opened. The restoration is beautiful, although understated - no contrasting colors on the decorative trim, e.g.
I didn't make it to Tesco today, but judging from all the people carring Tesco bags, it seems to be open. I did see a few interesting things there yesterday. Outdoor tubs filled with live fish drew a line of buyers.
Live fish also were being sold yesterday from a huge vat on Main Square. I've seen live lobsters sold in the U.S. in stores, but never live fish, certainly not from such huge vats. "Kapor" on his sign translates to "carp," a fish considered a delicacy in central Europe and even China. Midwesterners never eat carp, for reasons I won't explain on a public blog.
Tesco sells live Christmas trees, but Slovaks seem more interested in assembling their own decorations from evergreen boughs and other items. This was outside Tesco yesterday.
In the Now-I've-Seen-Everything category, three American Indians were outside Tesco yesterday, playing what I would characterize as New Age. And talk about coincidences! "Cherokee" on that sign overhead advertises the clothing line carried by Tesco. I recorded a brief clip of the music. It bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Indian music I heard as a child at the annual Pow-Wows in Blackhawk State Park. Different tribe, I guess.
I had planned to sample the holiday music at all the churches here, either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. When I have mentioned this idea to colleagues, I've been warned that the churches are so jammed that some people stand outside to hear the service. With daytime highs in the 20s, I might rethink that idea. Fortunately, Slovak television broadcasts all the services live tonight and tomorrow.
NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.
2 comments:
Julie:
The "Indian" performers in Slovakia and much of Europe are typically Bolivian, but have adopted the U.S. native American dress style because it is more recognizable and popular. American Indian costumes and "pow wows" are particularly popular in Germany. Merry Christmas.
Chuck
Fried carp and potato salad are (unfortunately)the typical Christmas meal in Slovakia and the Czech republic. I believe the tradition comes from the times of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and that they still eat carp at Christmas in those two countries. People usually buy their carp alive some days before, and keep it in the bathtub until Christmas day. There is a story where Vaclav Havel, the playwright and first president after the revolution in 1989, was detained in a Prague prison by the Communists in the Eighties. Being a fairly well known personality, he was given a tour of the prison, and was shown the interrogation "facilities", which included bathtubs where prisoners were dunked undewater to make them talk. Looking worried, Havel was reassured by the prison guard that the bathtubs had not been used for interrogation since the Fifties, and were now only used by the prison personnel to keep their carp before Christmas :)
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