intangible cultural heritage

Freh on the Eve of a Names Day Celebration

area : Srce Slowenije
category : social practices
In the past people paid much more attention to the celebration of their name's days that their birthdays. Celebrating birthdays began only after World War II. Celebrating the day of the patron saint we have been named after is much older; it originates in the period before Christ. The word god (name's day; translator's note) meant hour, holiday, year in the Old Church Slavonic. These are the roots of the meaning of name's day as an anniversary or occasion which is found in some Slavonic languages. In certain communities in the country the custom has been preserved until this day, namely the custom of the neighbours going to flatter/court someone (See above: hofieren, ofirati) in the evening before someone’s name’s day.
In the past patron saints played a very important role in naming a child. Usually the child was named after the parton saint whose name’s day was celebrated on the day of the child's birthday or around that day. If it was at all possible the name was also linked with the ancestors and relatives so that a certain name was kept in the family from generation to generation. As a rule the first-born was named after his father, one of the girls was usually named after her mother or grand-mother.

There was a widely-spread custom in the country that in the evening before someone's name’s day the neighbours prepared “freh”, “ofreht”, “ofiranje”, “ofrah”, “tablanje” or “rumplanje” (See above). The word “ofrah” is supposed to come from the German word hofieren which means to flatter, court someone. The word “rumplanje” originates in the spoken language word rumel which means noise or racket.

The gathered neighbours, relatives or friends, young and old, went to the person celebrating their name’s day in order to prepare them freh. Already a few days before they collected various materials and tools to make a noise such as spoons, pans, chains, saws, scythes, graters, cups with pebbles, plates, glasses, harmonicas and the like. After World War II they also invited a musician, usually an accordionist, to accompany them to the person celebrating their name’s day. They stopped at the threshold of the door or under a window to sing a folk song or simply to make a noise. In certain villages they came to the door or window as quietly as possible and only then they made a deafening noise by means of carbide, in other villages they were raising a noise on their way to the house. They kicked up a tremendous racket until the person celebrating their name’s day appeared at the door and invited them in where they wined and dined them. In summer they were wined and dined in front of the house. The drink and food were modest, it was the socialising that counted. Very often freh and socialising went on till the next morning. This custom has been preserved to this day although it is called differently in different places.

Nowadays this custom is not so widespread mainly because we are giving up not only the celebration of name's days but the spontaneous socialising of neighbours as well. In old times people took their time to socialise, which made them closer to each other and enriched their everyday lives on the farms. Since there was no money to buy presents they were able to find other ways to rejoice. Usually it was only the children who were given something extra (dried fruit, nuts), otherwise the family went to church when their member celebrated their name's day and the mistress of the house prepared a slightly better lunch. It was the men who celebrated their name's day in a large company while women and children did so in the company of their families.

links

The Heart of Slovenia
Development Centre Litija
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