{"id":53795,"date":"2023-03-06T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T16:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malihnog.com\/?p=53795"},"modified":"2023-03-07T07:50:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T07:50:37","slug":"love-letter-to-birds-celebrating-gregorjevo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malihnog.com\/en\/love-letter-to-birds-celebrating-gregorjevo\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Letter To Birds: Celebrating Gregorjevo"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOVE LETTER TO BIRDS: CELEBRATING GREGORJEVO<\/h2>

The sun doesn\u2019t linger around much yet. It plays hide and seek with the grumpy rain clouds, and you still need to wear your warmest winter coat when you\u2019re out and about.<\/p>

Still, there is a palpable change in the air: it just feels and smells somehow different. And if you cock your ear, you can hear a little choir in the garden singing every day just a little louder, a little more enthusiastic between two episodes of shower. Spring is around the corner, and in a couple of days our birds, who are just doing their vocal warm-up now, will be ready for the show: on 12th March they will announce the new season\u2019s arrival!<\/p>

celebrating gregorjevo<\/h3>

When it comes to celebrating nature and the seasons, there is no sweeter and more Slovene holiday than \u201cGregorjevo\u201d \u2013 a traditional folk calendar day, named after Saint Gregory.<\/p>

The reason why Slovenia celebrates the turn of the wheel ten days earlier than the whole world, is not because we are an impatient nation, or we are luckier with March weather than others. It rather has to do with old church calendars. Originally the celebration of the Saint Gregory – the great pope of the 6th century, and patron saint of students, teachers, and musicians – coincided with the first day of spring. But when the Julian calendar reform rolled around a good ten centuries later, even though the date officially moved back, in people\u2019s minds the holiday was preserved as the beginning of spring.<\/p>

gregorjevo TRADITION: WELCOMING LIGHT<\/h3>

If you\u2019re attentive enough, then you will notice that the changes in nature have started happening within these ten days anyway: the sun’s rays are getting powerful, and the first brave buds start to pop their heads up on trees. According to tradition, Saint Gregory also brings the light back into our days.<\/p>

In old times, traditionally this was the turning point of the year when workers didn\u2019t need to kneel over oil or kerosene lamps to work anymore. In places with long-standing traditions of craftsmanship, such as \u017delezniki, Tr\u017ei\u010d, Kropa or Kamna Gorica, people prepared small floating baskets or clogs, lighting them on fire and throwing them into the local rivers and springs. It was a symbolic act to \u201cthrow the light into the water\u201d, when they didn’t need it anymore, and letting it take away every worry and hardship of the winter.<\/p>

Today the custom is still alive in these regions: but now it’s children and school students crafting artistic floating houses and boats (so-called \u201cgregor\u010dki\u201d) from eco-friendly materials. They light them up with tiny candles and send them off downstream in the evening of 11th March, turning spring\u2019s arrival into a truly magical event.<\/p>

ON GREGORJEVO BIRDS MARRY<\/h3>

Gregorjevo is not only a celebration of light, but also the celebration of true, lasting love \u2013 a Slovene Valentine\u2019s Day, if you like! Oral folk tradition has it that on this day birds are joined in wedlock, that\u2019s why their choir sings so loud!<\/p>

In the past, parents would hide on the trees and bushes some potica (traditional Slovenian festive pastry), flat bread or other sweets as the feast for the birds\u2019 wedding \u2013 and of course, if the birdies couldn\u2019t eat them all, the kids would eagerly help hunt them down and have a cheerful feast themselves!<\/p>

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According to old tradition, you could only catch the birds in wedlock if you went to the bushes barefoot.<\/p>

PLAYING OUR PART: KEEPING GREGORJEVO ALIVE<\/h3>

To mark this special nature-related Slovene holiday and to help keep traditions alive, our favourite local toymaker, Primo\u017e Rojc<\/strong><\/a> has crafted something special for you this year.<\/p>

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Two beloved birds, a blue tit and a robin, have been turned into children\u2019s toys under his hands, inviting little ones to appreciate nature while playing. The toys also come for a limited time* with some special, thoughtful gifts (a wooden bird, some seeds and a colourful postcard) that encourage you to make your own family traditions for this old holiday and celebrate our best garden friends, the birds.<\/p>