May Day May Day

Tuesday of this week was Labor Day. The day of the workers. It is a special day for the left-leaning Slovene minority of Trieste. In the villages of San Dorligo in the Breg, which is what the area is called (do not accidentally call it the Carso just because people speak Slovene here), there is a tradition where the best cherry tree of the village is chosen by a select group of people, usually the single males, in the village and chopped down during the night. Then, the next day, it is up to them (with some help) to secure it to a giant pole, decorate it with red flags and oranges and that sort of thing, then raise it up high in the sky and secure it while the rest of the village drinks wine and laughs at you. The reason it is so funny is because, even though this tradition has been around for years and years and years, putting it up each year is like doing it for the first time. Frustration, things going wrong, problems... But, in the end, the job is finished usually in the wee hours of the night, and the party continues. My daughter tells me that it is called L'albero della Cucagna. Sure, it exists on Wikipedia, but read it in Italian. In the English version it gets translated to "Greasy Pole" and that is an entirely different tradition. 

Today, in Ricmanje (San Giuseppe della Chiusa) there is a ceremony to take that bad boy down and a BBQ to accompany it. Apparently they go from one village to the next to take down the May Day Tree. I tried to find a good picture of this tradition online but couldn't find much. I will share my crappy phone picture of what I saw yesterday on my way home from the bike path. It was a little rainy, but I hope you get the idea.

I am hoping the weather holds out for the party tonight. Asking around today, I realized that not everyone in Trieste even knows about some of these traditions that are alive and well and living in the Slovene communities on the outskirts of Trieste and in the Carso. The Slovene minority loves to party so it is worth looking them up on May day, around Saint Martin in November (San Martin' Bevi Vin!!) and even for Carnevale. For historical reasons, Slovenes living in Trieste sometimes keep their traditions to themselves, but if you show a genuine interest in getting to know them, the doors will fly open and you will be welcomed in to experience some of the best of what Trieste has to offer as far as culture and folklore. 

Sometimes Slovene speakers are hiding in plain sight. If you are not sure, just ask! Sometimes first names can help. If you happen to know anyone who is named Boris or Igor or Stoyen or Istok (names I associate with extreme fun), start with them!