MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

During the year we can see celebrations of many feasts in our country. Some of these feast are a little bit strange for us, because we didn´t celebrate it before. This new ways of celebration appeared because of multicultural society. Thanks to people of different race, nationality and religion who have naturalized in our country, we can know nowadays other people much better then it was before. But we have still people who are afraid to know other cultures and they don´t respect their habbits and behaviour. We´re calling them racists. Thanks to them the coexistence and cohabitation of different races is still problematic in our country. We should learn something from countries like USA, Canada or United Kingdom , where people do not judge each other because of colour of skin or nationality and there isn´t racial discrimination and intoleration like in our country. They just separate people who can do some contribution to society from those who not, because of their laziness. My attitude to different cultures is quite good. I´m not dividing people to some imaginary groups just because of color, religion or nationality. I´m just dividing people to group of clever and jerky people. So I can say that I don´t care who your are, but for me it´s important if you just carying your head on neck, or you´re using it sometimes.

Feasts or public holidays are very popular in our population, because during feast we don´t have to go to school or work, so we have free time. We can divide feasts to religious feasts and public feast also called bank holidays in United Kingdom, because on these days all banks, educational and shopping facilities are closed. In our country feasts like Easter, Saint Cyril´s and Methodius day, All Saint´s day, Christmas, Santa Claus day or Three King´s day are allowed to be religious. And other feasts like New Year´s Eve, New Year´s Day, Slovak National Uprising day or day of Slovak Constitution are public. Of course that other countries have different feasts like day of Independence and Thanksgiving in USA. Then Haloween in USA and UK or day of capturing the Bastilla fortress in France.

American national public feasts are a little bit strange and different from ours, so I´d like to simply describe them. The Independance day is on 4-th July and it is an anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It is celebration of separation and independance of American colonies from United Kingdom. Thanksgiving is on 4-th Thursday in November and firstly it was celebrated in 1621 as the expression of joy and happiness after the first succesful harvest. Halloween is on the 31-st of October. This feast is mysterious and that´s why people are dressing themselves to the funny or scary costumes and trying to scare others.

Slovak National Uprising is on 29-th of August and the day of Slovak Constitution is on 1-st of September. But I think that more important for us is New Year´s Eve and New Year´s Day on 31-st of December and 1-st of January. On New Year´s day we celebrate new year and the foundation of Slovak Republic. At midnight people wish each other all the best in new year as good health, happiness, love and a lot of success in work or life. After that we ´re making new year´s resolutions and we´re trying to keep it as long as it is possible. The celebration at midnight are accompanied with fireworks.

Religious feasts in Slovakia are also popular by believers as well as by misbelievers. During Easter we´re celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God Friday, the Friday before Easter is the anniversary of Christ´s crucifacation. We celebrate Easter on the first spring full moon. In the Easter Monday morning guys go around with whip made of willow wattle and with buckets full of water to pour girls. After that they obtain coloured eggs, chocolate and ribbons for whip as a reward.

Saint Cyril´s and Methodius day is on 5-th of July and we celebrate two brothers who bring christianity in 863 to area of todays Slovakia. All Saints Day is the day when we´re visiting cementaries and praying there for souls of our death relatives. This is on 1-st november and we use to light candles on graves.

Christmas is the greatest and most beatiful feast for Christians. Preparation for it are taking 4 weeks and it´s called Advent. During Christmas we´re celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. We are decorating our houses and Christmas trees and children are looking forward for gifts, which they obtain usually after Christmas dinner. This all is happening on 24-th of December. I have to say that I like this feast the most, especially for Christmas dinner which in my family contains of sauer kraut soup, salad, fried carp and special kind of meal called pirohy and bobaľky.