It’s time to resume our Word for Monday posts with some very appropriate words for this week…
| English | Slovak |
 |
 |
New Year |
nový rok |
| [NOH-vee rohk] |
New Year’s Day in Slovak is called “nový rok.” But the day we typically call New Year’s Eve has a different name in Slovakia and many European countries.
| English | Slovak |
|
|
New Year’s Eve |
Silvester |
| [SEEL-vest-ehr] |
You may remember from previous posts (like the one about name days, or about Mikulaš day on December 6) that each day of the year has a name associated with it, usually the name of a saint or important person in Catholic history. New Year’s Day is named Silvester because that’s the feast day and name day of Saint Silvester, a fourth-century Pope. So rather than calling it “New Year’s Eve,” they simply call it “Silvester.”
Slovaks will celebrate much like we would in the U.S. – with fireworks, parties, concerts. We hear it’s a very noisy time here in the city!
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