(source: SME.sk / Hej,ty)
Good evening. Here is the Friday, December 9 edition of Today in Slovakia – the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
For weekend events and news on travel and culture in Slovakia, see the latest edition of our Spectacular Slovakia newsletter.
Christmas trees will get a chance for second life in Bratislava
Bratislava continues to advance collection and reuse of dumped Christmas trees to a new, higher level. This year, apart from building wooden pens, in which people can leave the trees after Christmas is over, it will be their use for production of bookshelves by the Ikea furniture producer.
“The trees will be transformed into bookshelves, which, together with books from the reuse centre Kolo, we deliver, for example, to centres for children and families, a volunteer centre or senior houses,” said Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo.
Last year, during the second year of the project, the city collected more than 200 tonnes of Christmas trees. They ended in the local composting plant.
If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you.
Feature story for today
Typical Slovak thriftiness, combined with an economic model that pushes people to buy things they do not really need, leads to homes cluttered with needless items people are unable to throw away. But Zuzana Mrázová, one of Slovakia’s three certified KonMari consultants does not recommend starting a decluttering during Christmas time since there are many other things to do, things may not go well and that is depressing.
As far as clutter goes, there is something you can do at Christmas: choose presents for your loved ones wisely.
“I don’t know why we suddenly need to give ten presents instead of one, or else it wouldn’t even be Christmas to us,” said Mrázová.
More Christmas stories from Spectator.sk archive:
Candles: To make your own beewax candles is nothing complicated, shows Zuzana Kopanicová.
Local delicacies: Vienna has Sacher torte, Budapest has Somlói galuska and Bratislava has rolls
Cookies: Still not having baked Christmas cookies? Try šuhajdy or medvedie labky.
Video of the week
The Technik STU choir brings, in a world premiere, a Slovak Christmas carol, Sem Pastieri Pospiechajte (Here Hasten, Shepherds), written down by Pavol Bajan in 1783. Composer Mária Jašurdová has adapted it for the Technik STU Choir. They recorded it in the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Bratislava when the video is combined with the winter atmosphere of Bratislava.
Other news
OĽaNO leader Igor Matovič stepped down as finance minister on Friday, December 23, as part of a deal forged with the opposition SaS party. Under it, parliament adopted the state budget for 2023 on Thursday, December 22. President Zuzana Čaputová tasked temporary Prime Minister Eduard Heger with heading the Finance Ministry. Matovič indicated that he would return to parliament as a MP for his party.
Eduard Heger, left, is taking over the Finance Ministry from Igor Matovič (source: SITA)
Speaker Boris Kollár and his party Sme Rodina will support Eduard Heger's new cabinet if an early election will take place in June or September next year. Sme Rodina is a coalition party that is today part of the Heger-led interim government. (TASR)
A total of 59 percent of voters want an early parliamentary election in May or June 2023, according to the results of a survey carried out by Focus agency for TV Markíza and the Sme daily. 5 percent of respondents want a later date for a snap parliamentary election in September or October next year. On the contrary, 19 percent of respondents are in favour of holding the election in the spring of 2024. 17 percent of the people polled couldn’t answer.
Retail chains, groceries and shopping malls will be open on Saturday, December 24, only until 12:00. They will remain closed on December 25 and 26 and reopen only on Tuesday, December 27.
The assistance centre for refugees from Ukraine on Bottova Street in Bratislava will be closed from Friday, December 23, Sunday, January 1, 2023. It will reopen on January 2, 2023.
The public transport will run accoring to school holiday schedule during the Christmas time in Bratislava. There will be no school buses and the frequency of trams, buses and trolleybuses will be smaller.On Saturday, December 24, daily lines will gradually cease traffic after 17:00. From 18.00 night lines will start running until midnight at interval 30 minutes and after midnight according to regular timetables, the Bratislava Transport Company (DPB)informed.
11-year-old Klára Valentovičová became the Slovak virtuoso of the year 2022. The young musician succeeded in the final round of the international classical music competition Virtuoso, in which each of the participating countries recognised their greatest talent. They were selected by an international jury headed by world star Plácido Domingo.
If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
