Baking “potica”

The day before Christmas, every real Gorenjska housewife would bake “potica” (walnut-filled rolled dough cake) and “poprtnjak” (festive bread). “Poprtnjak” is a loaf of white bread that has to remain whole up until Three Kings Day, and is present on the table for all three Christmas evenings: Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Three Kings Day, when it is then cut into pieces.

Cold dinner

On Christmas Eve, the table would be set with a cold dinner, such as a salad, chilled boiled fruit, hazelnuts and walnuts etc., in remembrance of Christ’s parents Mary and Joseph, who couldn’t enjoy a hot meal on that evening. They would also call this dinner a “merry fast”.

“Around the corner” on Christmas Eve

“Around the corner” is a typical Gorenjska custom our ancestors practiced on the evening of 24 December. At nightfall, the housewife would prepare burning coals in a pot, fill a bottle with holy water, and put a boxwood branch in it. The man of the house would then sprinkle the coals with incense and bless all the pantries, livestock, and buildings with the smoke. Right behind him would be another member of the family carrying the bottle of holy water and diligently sprinkling it over everything. Additionally, they would shake a branch on every fruit tree to ensure a good harvest for next year.

A torchlit walk to Midnight Mass

Before going to Midnight Mass, they would put a blessed candle on the table or in the window, with only one person staying behind to safeguard the house. People would then walk with torches on narrow paths through the snow. They could be seen on their journey from far away.

Blessing of horses in Kupljenik

Since the 18th century, on St. Stephen’s Day, which is celebrated on 26 December, farmers from local villages would take their horses to be blessed at the church of St. Stephen in Kupljenik. In the past, horses played a much more important role in everyday life than they do today, as a horse contributed significantly to his owner’s livelihood. A horse’s health was extremely important, which is why at the end of the 18th century, the custom of blessing horses in the name of St. Stephen came about. Through the years, locals kept this tradition alive, with the Volunteer Firefighter’s Association of Kupljenik organising it in recent years.

Beating Day

Every year on 28 December, children would look forward to the so-called “Beating Day”, when they took birch rods or whips and started going house to house in the village. The first to “get it” were the father and mother. The people believed that the children’s “strikes” would bring blessings of fertility and vitality, with the custom being names “pametiva” in the Gorenjska region.

New Year “magic”

Author Manica Komanova wrote that in the old days there was a lot of belief in the magical and miraculous on both Christmas and New Year's Eve. The most widespread and common was “lead pouring”, where molten lead was poured into cold water, and the resulting shape would then predict the future; and divination from pools of still water, which was mainly used by girls, as they believed that the image of their future husband would appear in the water.

Getting up early

On the first day of the new year, people had to get up early if they wanted to be hard-working and diligent throughout the year. It was also important to note who came to the house first on that day: a man would bring luck, a woman bad luck.

Cutting the “poprtnjak” bread

On the first of January, the man of the house would cut up the “poprtnjak” loaf and distribute large slices to all members of the family. They had to eat all of it on an empty stomach, because they believed that this way they would stay healthy and strong all year.

Making an offering to the water, and decorating wells

People used to believe that the water with which they washed themselves had miraculous powers. That's why they used to decorate wells and fountains, and on the first day of the year they would collect water for washing before dawn, when it was supposed to be especially magical and beneficial.