The Three Kings (continued)

The carols were supposed to bring happiness, health and prosperity into people's homes. At first the Catholic Church forbade these carols because the Church considered it to be a pagan tradition. However, as the people did not want to let go of this tradition, the Church eventually accepted it. Gradually, this tradition became an important part of the holidays and included priests, sextons, singers, altar boys and even the mayor. They would go round the houses and bless the people with holy water and frankincense, and would write above the door, with a blessed chalk, the initials of the three kings: G (Gaspar), M (Melichar) and B (Baltazar).

The Three Kings, the priest and the carol singer were often invited into the people's homes, where the woman of the house would sit the visitors around the table and bring them some treats. After the guests had gone she would quickly sit on the same place where the priest had sat, which was supposed to help her hens lay more eggs, all the year round. If a naked girl sat on that place she was supposed to get married in one year, and if she wanted to get married even quicker she had to wrap herself into the tablecloth that had laid on the table during the time when the carol singers were there. This tablecloth was also supposed to help a person with back trouble get rid of backaches.

The Three Kings (cont...) >>

- Introduction

- Traditional Calendar

- Traditional Food

- Traditional Recipes

- Traditional Crafts

- Folk Music & Dance

- Folkgroup ORAVA

- Folkgroup Kubincan