As we enter the new year, we all eagerly await the arrival of spring. In addition to the Kurents, she will also be summoned and greeted this year by children and adults, who will drop the small Saint Gregory's barges into Gradaščica. Decorate your paper or wooden houses with paper flowers and prepare a candle to light on the day when, according to St. Gregory, spring is supposed to begin. We all can't wait.
Welcome to spring is a traditional event that takes place before the feast of St. Gregory, and revives the old custom, according to which craftsmen lowered wooden clogs with burning candles on the water, which meant that they were happy that they would no longer need lights to work. In folk tradition, St. Gregory is considered to be the initiator of spring, because according to the old (Julian) calendar, spring began on his feast day (March 12). This year too, don't miss the 2017 Spring Greetings!
Gregor's Day, the Slovenian version of Valentine's Day, is the day when, according to folk tradition, birds get married, and the day when the first day of spring was celebrated during the Julian calendar. Gregor's Day brings not only spring and light, but also a lot of social events, including at the Ljubljana Castle, where the spring festival will be celebrated this year with two events, namely a fairy-tale-creative meeting from the series Nature in Fairy Tales and a concert by tango performers, the Beltango quintet .
Gregory's Day (March 12), the Slovenian version of Valentine's Day, is approaching, which means that as part of the Greeting to Spring event, children and adults will once again lower painted houses made of paper and wood, decorated with flowers and lit from the inside with candles, into Gradaščica. Traditionally, the event will take place on Eipprava Street in Ljubljana, where the barčice of St. Gregory or gregorčka was sent on its way on Friday, March 11, 2016, between 5 and 8 p.m. You are welcome! Unfortunately, the event has been CANCELED due to the flooded Gradaščica.
March 12 is reserved for Gregorian, the day when birds get married, the day when girls used to look up at the sky and watch out for birds. Looking into the sky was like looking into a crystal ball, because the first bird they saw announced what her husband would be like. Otherwise, Gregorov's Day is considered the Slovenian Valentine's Day, which has somehow stolen its love status and today is more associated with light.
If the masquerades summon spring, the gregors welcome it with open arms. On Gregorevo, birds get married, and illuminated boats light up along many rivers and lakes.