On Saturday, February 14, 2026, in our Slovenian language class, we discussed a topic that is current in most of the world during these February days, which are carnivals or, as we call them in Slovenia, pustovanje, abbreviated as pust, which officially lasts from Shrove Thursday to Shrove Tuesday, when the peak of carnival masks, processions and overeating carnival delicacies, among which the carnival donut is certainly the most popular.
Shrove week is movable and depends on Easter, because Shrove Sunday is seven weeks before Easter.
In short, according to Wikipedia, the word pust comes from the older term mesopust, or from the words meso and postiti or from meso and pust, which is a literal translation of the Italian word carneleva, which means to give up meat. The Italian term carneleva thus gave rise to the word carnevale – carnival, which is today a general term for mass masquerades at a time when winter is said goodbye and nature begins to awaken, which is why people must also purify their bodies, which consumed too much abundant and fatty food in the winter, by fasting until Easter.
During the Saturday class, the students learned about the origins of masquerades, which are the largest carnivals in the world and Europe, and where in Slovenia the largest traditional carnival celebrations and processions are held during carnival. I highlighted the most famous Slovenian carnival mask, which originates from the Ptuj region and is part of the intangible cultural heritage, and in recent years the popularity of the kurent has grown into one of the symbols of Slovenian identity, known everywhere where Slovenians live. Thus, the kurent danced its dance with pumpkins even in Banja Luka. We also saw other traditional Slovenian masks, such as the Brkini škoromata, the Cerknica laufarja, the Cerknica witch Uršula and the water nymph Jezerka.
Each student then painted one of the carnival templates and attached their product to the wall panel, which has been decorating the premises of the "Triglav" Association for some time now. At the end of the Saturday gatherings, we enjoyed large and extremely tasty donuts. A part of our carnival atmosphere was also shared by the valuable members of the Association, who prepared delicious snacks for the election assembly of the "Triglav" Association, which was also held on February 14, 2026. They also enjoyed donuts and graciously posed for a group photo.
Metoda Perger
