Halloween and Valentine’s Day in Slovakia: new holidays or new opportunities for celebration?

Popelková, Katarína; Zajonc, Juraj

doi:10.12775/lse.2022.61.02

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The suitability of this term is also indicated by a correlation with Karel Šima's reflection on modern celebrations as a set of emotional and rational, affective and conscious, chaotic and organised mixtures and other practices, as well as on the attempt to separate these practices (Šima, 2019: 171). The importance of Valentine's Day mainly as a new occasion for celebrating was also confirmed in his analysis as a new element in the holiday calendar of Slovaks aer 1990 (Popelková, Zajonc, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Valentine’s Day and the Eventisation of Slovakia’s Festive Culture

Zajonc

2023

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e study focuses on Valentine's Day in Slovakia since the turn of the 20 th and 21 st centuries from the perspective of festive culture. It explores public celebrations, as defined by Lars Deile (2014), associated with Valentine's Day, and analyses them on the basis of event characteristics according to Winfried Gebhardt's concept. e study is based on the assumption that the acceleration of eventisation is a new dynamising element of the festive culture transformation at the late modern stage (Gebhardt, 2000). e aim of the study is (1) to find out which of the Valentine's Day public celebrations in Slovakia have the nature of an event; (2) identify the origin of and motivation for the choice of specific forms of events; (3) outline the specifics of Valentine's Day celebrations as events in the framework of Slovakia's festive culture. At the general level, the author is interested in the cultural dimension of the individualisation and pluralisation processes. rough three Valentine's Day events, he traces the transformations of the trends of deinstitutionalisation, deconstruction, profanisation, multiplication, and commercialisation, which characterise the celebrations of modern society according to Gebhardt. Empirically, the study relies on the findings of the analysis of media sources about the forms of the festive practice accompanying Valentine's Day in Slovakia. e sources come from exploratory research conducted in 2011-2021.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Valentine’s Day and the Eventisation of Slovakia’s Festive Culture

Zajonc

2023

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“…In Slovakia, these days are traditionally called "Dušičky" (Little Souls) and are celebrated in accordance with Catholic tradition, although this practice can be combined with folk customs related to ancestors and the Otherworld. During recent decades, All Saints' Eve has been linked to Halloween as a secular, yet strongly associated with the supernatural, holiday; its celebration has been accompanied by various kinds of ritualised behaviour (Popelková and Zajonc 2022). Halloween is commonly believed to have roots in the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain and, therefore, in the context of alternative spirituality, has been linked to various beliefs associated with the Otherworld (Power 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commemoration of the Dead in the Context of Alternative Spirituality: Collective and Solitary Rituals

Bužeková

2024

Religions

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The ritualised commemoration of the deceased belongs to the most common forms of communication with the dead. The meaning that people ascribe to a religious commemoration ritual is determined by a concrete religious doctrine, although it can be influenced by a broader cultural tradition. However, in the context of alternative spiritual currents, there can be many possible interpretations of communication with the dead, as there is no “official” doctrine supported by established institutions. In addition, alternative spirituality is marked by the emphasis on individuality, which results in the predominance of solitary practice. Yet, in various contexts, the tension between individuality and community can be manifested in different forms of ritualised behaviour, ranging from strictly private performances to prescribed group rituals. The paper addresses different levels of individual and collective practice in the context of alternative spirituality in Slovakia, a post-socialist country with a predominantly Christian, mostly Catholic, population. It makes use of the theoretical tools of Mary Douglas’ theory relating to the connection between cosmological beliefs and particular forms of social life. Rituals and ritualised behaviour are considered in the case of the triduum of All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. The results of ethnographic research on spiritual circles operating in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, have shown that these holidays are perceived and practiced differently by people with different religious or spiritual affiliation. The individual interpretation and the degree of associated ritualised behaviour depend on personal background, as well as the social organisation of a circle to which a practitioner belongs.

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Critical culturalized comprehension: Exploring culture as learners thinking about texts

List,

Campos Oaxaca,

et al. 2023

Educational Psychologist

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Halloween and Valentine’s Day in Slovakia: new holidays or new opportunities for celebration?

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Valentine’s Day and the Eventisation of Slovakia’s Festive Culture

Valentine’s Day and the Eventisation of Slovakia’s Festive Culture

Commemoration of the Dead in the Context of Alternative Spirituality: Collective and Solitary Rituals

Critical culturalized comprehension: Exploring culture as learners thinking about texts

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