Unterrichtsstunde · Festival · 🇸🇮 Slovenia

Kurentovanje carnival

Costumed 'Kurents' chase winter away with bells and sheepskin

A Kurent in sheepskin costume with horns and cowbells, dancing in the street

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

Was ist das?

Kurentovanje is a winter-into-spring carnival in the town of Ptuj. People dress up as 'Kurents' in long sheepskin coats with feathers, masks with horns, and huge cowbells around their waists. They dance and ring the bells to scare winter away.

Mehr erfahren

The carnival takes place in February. Hundreds of Kurents march through the streets in a noisy, colourful procession.

The sheepskin costume weighs about 25 kilograms - heavier than most school bags - and the bells are loud enough to make windows shake.

Kurentovanje is on the UNESCO list of cultural traditions to protect, alongside things like Spanish flamenco and Japanese kabuki.

Im Unterricht

In 15 Minuten mit Ihrer Klasse durchgehen.

Gemeinsam sprechen

Impulse für das Gespräch

  1. 01If you had to make a costume to scare winter away, what would it look like?
  2. 02Why do you think people make so much noise to welcome spring?
  3. 03What festival in your country does something similar - chasing one season away?
Probiert das aus

Aktivität für den Unterricht

Cut paper bells and paste them around a paper-plate mask. Give your mask a name and a job (e.g. 'rain chaser', 'wake-up bringer').