Saint Stephen's Day
Historical Context
Saint Stephen's Day falls on 26 December and is a paid day off in Slovakia. It is the second day of Christmas and is traditionally for visiting extended family and friends.
Saint Stephen's Day honours the first Christian martyr and has been observed across Christian Europe since the early Middle Ages. In Slovak lands it has consistently been a day of rest, paired with Christmas Day under the term Druhý sviatok vianočný (Second Christmas Holiday). The day is named after Saint Stephen but the religious focus is minimal compared to the family aspect.
In rural areas, koleda (caroling) groups still go house to house on Saint Stephen's Day, singing Christmas songs in exchange for sweets, pastries, and homemade liquor. Visiting godparents, extended family, and close friends is the dominant tradition. Many Slovaks take a long walk after the heavy meals of the previous days. Shops are closed.
Regional Traditions
Záhorie (Myjava)
On Saint Stephen's Day around Myjava, unmarried young men went from house to house "polievanie" — pouring water over unmarried girls (alongside the more widespread šibanie with birch twigs) so that they would stay healthy and beautiful through the year. The custom is closer to the Easter oblievačka than to the eastern-Slovak Štefan visits and is one of the few places where it was attached to 26 December rather than to Easter Monday.
Horehronie
On Saint Stephen's Day villagers of Horehronie were driven through the village and surrounding area on horse-drawn sleighs; the longer the sleigh ride, the taller the next year's flax and hemp would grow. The custom links the patron of horses (Štefan) to a sympathetic-magic ride for the coming harvest, a regionally specific Horehronie variant of the Štefan horse blessings known elsewhere.