Should you go to Slovenia for Christmas cheer or New Year’s Eve? What to see and how to plan a trip? I have lived in Slovenia for several years and I will try to show you Christmas and New Year through the eyes of a local.
Christmas fairs in Slovenian cities
Advent in Slovenia has its own rhythm: every year it follows the same schedule, which locals have been waiting for since mid-November — right after Martin’s Day and the end of the festival season in honor of the harvest of everything that grows on Slovenian soil.
The festive pre-Christmas period begins with the lighting of the lights — each city chooses a different day for this, when all the city’s illuminations are switched on at the same moment. In Ljubljana, Maribor and on the coast, this is usually Friday or Saturday from November 26 to 30, and in other cities a week later. It is a big event in the winter life of the city: perhaps I have seen more people than at the «prižig lučk» (prižig lučk), as it is called in Slovenian, only on New Year’s Eve. The date of inclusion is announced in advance, and in larger towns they also organize a mini-concert. Residents gather in the main square and together with the mayor (as in Ljubljana) or a famous person give the countdown. Three, two, one — and in the almost total darkness, the celebration suddenly erupts. From that moment on, Advent officially begins.
During the pre-Christmas period, which lasts about 4 weeks, all towns, even small towns, have their own Christmas fair. Even if it’s a couple of stalls with mulled wine and snacks. Somewhere in the town or main church there is bound to be a Christmas wreath with 4 candles that are lit one each week of Advent, and there is bound to be a creche, or Christmas manger, in which the Christ child will appear on December 25.
When is the best time to travel to Slovenia during Christmas and New Year?
The best time to catch the spirit of Christmas in the Slovenian way is mid-December. At the beginning of the month there may not be snow yet, not all the fairs are packed yet. And after the 5th, especially from December 12 to 24, is the most fun and active period of Advent, when friends and families meet at the fairs in the evening and life in the city is buzzing like summer.
Already on December 24th in the afternoon, life in all cities comes to a standstill. Residents go home to celebrate Christmas with their families, and only lonely tourists hang around the city, with nowhere to drink mulled wine, because the Christmas stalls also close earlier than usual.
Immediately after Christmas, people leave the cities — the long school vacation begins, and on December 25 and 26, stores, museums and many restaurants are closed for the state weekend. Therefore, the cities are empty, but the ski resorts are in their highest and most expensive season.
The last active event of the season is New Year’s Eve, here it is called Silvestrovo and celebrated with fireworks. The next day the fairs begin to close down, and after January 6, even in Ljubljana, there are no winter stalls left except for roasted chestnuts. In other cities, fairs and decorations are taken down even earlier.
Christmas in Ljubljana
The main Christmas city in Slovenia is the capital, Ljubljana. Every year the same decorations are hung here, which were created in the early 2000s by a local designer, and every year some new elements are added to them — according to the author’s idea, this is how Ljubljana sends its message to the public, each year different. The most interesting thing is to solve the equation that appears in the city center every year. The answer is always known in advance — next year, but this fun challenge is not for everyone. Try to solve the equation on the cover of this article!
Like all Christmas towns, Ljubljana has its own creche, and here it is unusual. Small bundles of straw tied to wooden frames make full-length figures of people and animals.
Christmas markets in Ljubljana are open throughout the entire Advent season: from late November or early December, right up to Christmas Day. Look for them in the center: along the Ljubljanica River, in the courtyard of Ljubljana Castle (yes, you’ll have to climb a hill), on Prešernovo trgu, on the site of the city market (near the cathedral) and on Kongresný trgu.
Christmas in the Slovenian Alps
All of Slovenia comes to Kranjska Gora, a ski resort near the borders with Austria and Italy, for a true winter fairy tale. However, snow is not guaranteed even here: for example, we met the year 2020 without snow, while 2021 and 2022 were covered with snowdrifts.
A small, cozy town is transformed into a fairy-tale Christmas village. In the center, an ice rink is poured and a fair with souvenirs is set up. A very pretty creche is set up in the church. In Kranjska Gora the festive decorations and fairs are open for the longest time — until March.
In Podkoren, a small village under Kranjska Gora, the biggest Krampus race takes place on the evening of December 5 (I will tell you about this tradition below). In Mojstrana, a living creche is organized. But the New Year’s Eve night is illuminated only by fireworks fired by the residents and tourists themselves.
On the morning of January 1, local walruses organize a New Year’s swim on Lake Jasna near Kranjska Gora. It is an unusual spectacle: on a lake almost completely covered with ice, there is a small area that is not frozen, where the daredevils jump in. The water is about 0°C.
The other alpine lakes are also beautiful at this time. On Bohinj, Santa ' s village unfolds — it’s entertainment for children: Santa gives presents, listens to poems and gives out candy. And at Blej Lake there is a beautiful illumination and lighting of the castle hill. You should come here at dusk to see the reflection of the lights in the water.
Around Bled, some hotels are open even during the Christmas period. Here you can relax during Advent or celebrate New Year’s Eve, but there are no mass events on December 31. Where to stay and how to get to Lake Bled
Every year on Dec. 25 (except during the pandemic), the lake hosts a water show about the legend of the Bleu Bell, which supposedly lies at the bottom and sometimes rings from under the water.
Christmas on the Adriatic coast
From snowdrifts to palm trees in an hour and a half — that’s Slovenia. After Christmas in an alpine village you can bask in the sun, drink mulled wine by the sea and go ice skating at +12°C.
The main location on the Slovenian Riviera in winter is Koper, the capital of the Seaside region. Every year it strives to outdo Ljubljana in illumination, and in my opinion it has succeeded — the decorations in Koper are more elaborate, while in Ljubljana they look chaotic. During non-pandemic times, a laser show is shown on the facade of the Praetorian Palace every night. The whole thing is called Fantazima here.
An ice rink is poured near the yacht marina every year. Kiosks with mulled wine and snacks are set up near the marina and on the Titov Trg in the historical center. There is also an ice rink in Portorož, the «Slovenian Nice». Entrance to the rink costs 2 €, skate rental costs 1—2 €.
Other towns along the coast also have festive illuminations, more modest. Christmas fairs are open every day only in the last week before Christmas, and the rest of the time, either only on weekends or no market at all in the city.
In Portorož, every year on January 1 in the middle of the day there is a big flash mob — «New Year’s jump into the sea» (novoletni skok v morje). The event gathers more than 500 participants and is held as a big celebration. You can register here. Water temperature +11—13°C.
Where to stay on the coast: Koper, Izola, Piran, Portoroz
Symbols of Slovenian Christmas
What makes Slovenian Christmas different from other countries? Slovenian children have as many as three Father Frosts, bad behavior can be taken away by an evil spirit, and special local dishes are served at the festive table.
Patrons of Christmas and New Year
St. Nicholas comes to Slovenian children at the beginning of December — here he is called Miklavž (Miklauž). On the eve of St. Nicholas Day, on the evening of December 5, a parade of St. Nicholas is held in all major cities. At Christmas, children receive presents from Santa Claus, and on New Year’s Day from Dedek Mraz (literally «Grandfather Frost»), who wears a white or silver coat and came to Yugoslavia from the Soviet Union.
All the grandfathers have their parades and meetings with children, check the schedule here. For the whole month of December, this trio strolls around holiday fairs and children’s shows, giving children nice little things and restoring children’s psyche after their encounter with Krampus.
Krampus, straight from the Underworld.
On the evening of December 5, along with St. Nicholas comes his diabolical antipode, Krampus. Looking like an anthropomorphic goat in a maximum creepy mask, with horns and a tail, this character in pre-Christian Alpine traditions during the winter solstice was supposed to protect people and scare away evil spirits, but in the context of Catholic Christmas, he himself turned into an evil monster.
It is believed that the Catholic Church could not defeat the pagan tradition, so they turned a blind eye to Krampus, but subjected him to Nicholas. And while kind Nicholas gives good children oranges, chocolate, dried fruit and other goodies, Krampus slaps bad children with birch branches and takes the very bad ones with him. In Ljubljana, Nicholas and Krampus come together, and in Alpine villages there is a traditional parade of Krampus, who scare naughty children and smear soot on passers-by. The most colorful Krampus parade takes place in Podkoren, near Kranjska Gora.
Four interesting facts about Crumpus:
- In 2015, the movie Krampus was released, a Hollywood reimagining of the legend.
- Krampus has only two horns. If there are more horns, it is another demon — Perchten. However, in modern times they have almost merged and participate in the same parades.
- It is said that in the crowd of impostor Krampus, there is bound to be a real Krampus. The costumes of the impostors are so realistic that it is almost impossible to distinguish the real one — only by facial expressions, ear movements or blinking. That’s why children (and adults as well) are realistically frightened when one of the Krampus rushes at them — who knows if he is the real one.
- Around December 5—7, children are given a muffin in the shape of Krampus as a reminder that he is always watching. This bun can be tasteless, made of the simplest dough — it is for bad behavior. Or it can be made of good pastry dough, with chocolate and filling.
Festive Slovenian cuisine
Locals say that the main Slovenian tradition of the Christmas table is to fill it with so many dishes that there is nowhere to put a glass. Slovenia was on the periphery of empires until the end of the twentieth century, the population lived poorly, so Slovenian holiday cuisine is very simple and hearty. And Christmas Day was the end of Lent, so they put fatty meat food on the table — mostly from freshly butchered pigs.
The traditional simple dish is blood sausage or baked sausage «pechenitsa». It is served with a peasant garnish — «sour potion» (sour cabbage) or «sour turnip» (sour turnip) — which is pickled, very sour cabbage or turnip. You can still find biscuits with cabbage at fairs, along with mulled wine, which is called «kuhano vino».
It is customary to eat potitsa for dessert — this «queen of the festive table» is served on all holidays: Christmas, New Year, Easter, Martinovo. Fruit bread is baked on New Year’s Eve — it is believed to bring good luck and wealth.
At Christmas fairs they make mulled wine from red or white wine, non-alcoholic punches (they became especially plentiful after December 2020, when Slovenia banned takeaway alcoholic drinks due to the pandemic) and hot egg cocktail «Bombardino». They bake pancakes(palacinke), trdelnik. More serious food: Balkan civapcici and pleskavica, liver with sauerkraut.
Unlike Ljubljana and the northern cities, the coast has a slightly different holiday cuisine. Instead of liver and cabbage, they cut up prsut and cheese, and of the sweets, there ismiške, a local variation of the Venetian carnival doughnuts frittelle di carnevale. Now a Christmas sweet of the Istrian peninsula and Croatian Dalmatia, in Croatia they are called «fritule» (fritule). In December and at Easter they are fried all along the coast. The dough of fritule is firm and moist, it is made with cottage cheese, citrus, raisins, candied fruits, rum or maraschino, and whatever else the confectioner’s heart desires. For example, the traditional Dalmatian recipe contains mashed potatoes. The fritule is topped with chocolate, powdered sugar or cinnamon.
You can try «mice» mostly on the coast — they are hardly ever made on mainland Slovenia.
New Year in Slovenia
New Year’s Eve in Slovenia is called «Sylvester’s Eve» because December 31 is the feast day of St. Pope Sylvester I. He is especially revered for leading Emperor Constantine to baptism.
Unlike Christmas, Europeans celebrate New Year’s Eve with friends, in restaurants and on the streets, so there is plenty to do in Slovenia’s major cities on the night of January 1. There are concerts, food and mulled wine stands, and fireworks at midnight. In Ljubljana, fireworks are launched from the castle hill, above Ljubljana Castle. It can be seen from any point in the center, but the best view is from the Triple Bridge. And in Koper, fireworks are launched over the sea. During the pandemic, all fireworks were canceled, curfews were in effect and it was forbidden to leave the house.
Should I go to Slovenia for Christmas or New Year?
Slovenian Advent is not the most impressive I’ve seen. The illuminations are much richer in Zagreb and Vienna, and the Christmas atmosphere seems more genuine in Salzburg and Munich. But if you find yourself near Slovenia, such as in Croatia or northern Italy, you can see a Slovenian Christmas and see all of Slovenia at the same time.
Where to go for Christmas in Slovenia:
- Kranjska Gora — to see a real alpine village in the Christmas mood, and on December 5 to watch the Krampus race. You can combine it with a ski vacation. Temperatures average between -10°C and +5°C.
- Ljubljana has the biggest Christmas markets in the country. Just don’t compare them to Austrian or Bavarian fairs — after all, Ljubljana is very small, and the Christmas markets here are also small and not so old. One day of daylight is enough to see the capital itself. The air temperature ranges from -10°C to +5°C, with fog in the mornings in Ljubljana.
- Koper — see the beautiful illumination surrounded by palm trees and yachts. Half a day is enough for the city, and on the way you can stop by the most beautiful city of the Slovenian coast — Piran. Daytime temperatures range from +2°C to +15°C.
Christmas illuminations should be viewed after sunset, so I recommend planning transportation and overnight stays in advance — buses and trains are rare in Slovenia.
It is better to choose hotels in walking distance from the center, because public transport is not in all cities, and where there is, you can not pay for the bus driver — you need to buy and replenish the travel card in advance.
What else to do during Advent in Slovenia?
- Attend a performance — a «living creche». There are several of them in different places. Or you can watch a performance in one of Slovenia’s caves. The list of performances is here
- See The Nutcracker or Swan Lake performed by the Slovenian ballet in Ljubljana or Maribor.
- At the town market, buy fresh handmade Christmas pastries: nutty pottitsa, fruit bread for good luck and wealth, or a Krampus figurine.
- Ice skating in Kranjska Gora, Koper, Portorož or in the main square of Novo Mesta.
- Go to Trieste and compare Slovenian Advent with Italian Advent.
