Shrove Tuesday festivities originate in old Pagan habits. Shrove Tuesday doesn't have a permanent date. It always comes on Tuesday, 40 days before Easter. In those days, people put on masks to scare winter away. In Slovenia there are at least 150 traditional masks that can be found only here in our small country. Our most typical mask is Kurent, which has become a Slovenian symbol.
On Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday carnivals take place. People put on different masks to present different characters from politicians to fairy creatures. The biggest parades usually take place on Sunday.
But the beginning of the festivities is on Thursday-when people used to cook pork’s head but nowadays smoked ham is eaten instead and it continues with the fast on Friday. On Saturday all housewives fry doughnuts and cook smoked ham again.
On Saturday afternoons children go from a house to a house to get doughnuts or some money from good people. In the evening people go to mask balls. On Sunday there are usually carnivals, the most famous ones in our country are those in Ptuj with “Kurenti”, another one is in Cerknica with famous witches. Slovenian famous masks are also “laufarji”. All the masks have only one purpose- to scare away the winter. On Tuesday there are again certain carnivals, especially school children go to school hidden behind various masks. There is a special ritual on Tuesday called giving a wood log to those who are not married and they have to donate a certain some of money which is then spent on having partiesd together. It is a very old tradition, which is still in practice.
The festivities end on Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of the 40 day long Lent before Easter. On Ash Wednesday a stuffed creature “oust” is buried, so winter should end.
During the days of the carnival people used to eat and still do a lot of meat, candies and other fatty food; nowadays the most famous food are Carnival doughnuts, “ajdova potica” or buckwheat cake, “špehovka” or special cake made with a lot of fat and “orehovica” or German cake . The old rule says that on the Carnival day there must be a pork head on the table. If you don't like pork head, you can eat any other meat, as long as it has fatty enough. The saying says also that whoever doesn`t eats till he is full, he would starve the whole year (that goes for animals too). After all these goodies comes the fast, which hasn`t got only a body cleaning purpose but also a sacrifice of material for spiritual things. This sacrifice is already hidden in the word “pust”, which should be written “pusti meso” = leave meat).

Kurenti
A typical mask is Kurent who is dressed in sheepskin, which can be white or black; he has a black leather belt with big cowbells and handkerchief on it or a chain; he has a very long red tongue and on his head there are also a turkey feather, two horns, two thin sticks with coloured bands. They are always in groups and they are always very loud and noisy. They are extremely popular.