The Witches' Days - St. Katarina (cont...)

Protection against the evil spirits began as early as St. Katarina's day. Cloves of garlic were eaten, as this was long since believed to protect against all evil powers.

Another tradition was that a woman shouldn't be the first visitor to enter into a house on this day, because if she did there was the possible danger that the dishes in that house would be breaking for the whole of the next year.

Also it was traditional for the young men of the village to get up to mischievous tricks on St. Katarina's night, such as taking and hiding the working tools from the houses where girls lived. The next day the people would say that it was in fact the witches that had made the mischief.

The young men would also often change into women's clothes and then, in the early morning, would go round to their girlfriend's houses. Here they would dance with every woman in the house, and earn some money and food, which they would then use to prepare Katarina's ball afterwards.

St. Katarina (cont...) >>

- Introduction

- Traditional Calendar

- Traditional Food

- Traditional Recipes

- Traditional Crafts

- Folk Music & Dance

- Folkgroup ORAVA

- Folkgroup Kubincan