How “artery-clogging” Slovak Christmas delicacies brought an American back to life

Listen to Jeremy Hill recount his very first Christmas in Slovakia, when he rediscovered the healing magic of the holiday season.

The Christmas market on Main Square.The Christmas market on Main Square. (Source: TASR)

Just after moving to Slovakia, American Jeremy Hill felt a lump in his throat. His November was spent recovering from surgery while the weeks preceding Christmas were marked by some devastating news.

Upon examination, an oncologist, who was “a special kind of terrible”, told Hill the tumour was cancerous.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Reeling from the news, Hill was hardly in the Christmas spirit. Plus, as an American, he had grown increasingly tired of the often commercialised nature of the year-end holiday.

In an effort to cheer him up, Hill’s wife convinced him to join her at the famed Christmas markets, where Slovaks flock every year for some seasonal delicacies. Although he was sceptical at first, Hill tried some greasy Slovak favourites, which soon renewed his spirits.

SkryťTurn off ads

“The warmth spread from my sticky lips to my icy toes,” recounted Hill. “Soon I was out of my head and back in the world.”

Christmastime, marked by both Slovak and American traditions in the Hill household, is now his saving grace, a special time of joy and togetherness that gets him through the hard winters and harder times.

Understanding that this Christmas will be like no other in recent memory due to the ongoing pandemic, Hill wanted to share this special podcast with fellow readers of The Slovak Spectator.

Have a listen as he recounts his unusual, and unforgettable, first Christmas in Slovakia:

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad