After this official ceremony where teachers, students and their close family take part, relatives with their student go to the restaurant for a big dinner which was booked a few days before. From the students point of view this means a big relieve but for their parents it means a spending a fortune for the food, flowers, presents and other things.

Among other important events becomes birthday. This is usually an organized party
where friends and relatives are invited. They congratulate you on your birthday,
give you a personal presents and of course a delicious birthday cake with candles in it. We usually have some wine and a lot of food and have a good time together. Parents take
a lot of photos to immortalize such an important moment in their family. When someone
can’t come for some reason they simply send a birthday card with a birthday wish in it. I could mention other important events, which happen in family but the most
important ones are wedding and birth of a child as I’ve said at the beginning.

4. Birth

Before baby born there’s always a big rush around in the family. Looking after a new-born baby is considered as full time job where both parents have their own roles. Two months before childbirth mother stays on a maternity leave. For first six months she is paid 90 % of her salary and then up to three years she gets only a part which is about 3,000,- Sk. After three years she gets only social benefits.

At the beginning of a maternity leave partners make sure that almost everything is ready for a new arrival. They have to buy a lots of new equipment such as cot, pram, pushchair or buggy and the carrycot. Then when the child is bigger she/he needs a high chair to sit in. Then there are various things for feeding and soothing the baby such as dummies, feeding bottles, special bowls and dinner set and toys, too.

After the birth mother stays in a hospital for several days. When she gets home with a new-born baby, she stuck in one circle for a long time. First she has to face all those visitors who want to congratulate her and see the baby. These are the first days. But after all the haste calms down the main thing for mother is to breastfeed the baby later she can slowly start with the bottle-feeding. She has to change the nappies and if she uses the cotton ones she has to launder it, too. Soothing the baby is the most difficult thing so mother can take the baby in her arms or put him/her to the pram or dummy can be very useful or she can try singing the lullabies.