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During the holidays my father regularly put on feasts to which the entire community would be invited. My mother always baked cakes. She knew how to bake about a hundred different things. There was little alcohol.
The entire community used to come over to our place. Rich and poor. They'd set the table in that room that I used to sleep in, as it was the biggest. It was organized so that sixty people would fit inside. Women were separate, somewhere up front with my mother.
The community would meet like this for holidays like Purim [Purim: the holiday of joy. As is written in the Book of Ester, the holiday was decreed by Mordechai in memory of how God’s foresight saved the Jews of the Persian Empire from complete annihilation – Editor’s note], Simchat Torah and Chanukkah [Chanukkah: the Festival of Lights, which also commemorates the Macabbees’ uprising and the re-consecration of the Temple in Jerusalem – Editor’s note].
We observed holidays precisely according to regulations. The food was always the same, just during Passover [Passover: commemorates the departure of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity and is characterized by many regulations and customs.
The foremost is the prohibition of consuming anything containing yeast – Editor’s note] breadstuffs couldn't be served. My mother was very good at preparing it. For the bigger holidays my mother would buy a pike. Pike were very expensive back then, they cost three crowns fifty a kilo.
Otherwise during the year we had only whitings, in Hungarian "feher hal". They caught them right in Samorin. Yes, whitings, because carp cost two crowns fifty, and pike three crowns fifty. My mother would remove the skin, which would stay whole.
The entire community used to come over to our place. Rich and poor. They'd set the table in that room that I used to sleep in, as it was the biggest. It was organized so that sixty people would fit inside. Women were separate, somewhere up front with my mother.
The community would meet like this for holidays like Purim [Purim: the holiday of joy. As is written in the Book of Ester, the holiday was decreed by Mordechai in memory of how God’s foresight saved the Jews of the Persian Empire from complete annihilation – Editor’s note], Simchat Torah and Chanukkah [Chanukkah: the Festival of Lights, which also commemorates the Macabbees’ uprising and the re-consecration of the Temple in Jerusalem – Editor’s note].
We observed holidays precisely according to regulations. The food was always the same, just during Passover [Passover: commemorates the departure of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity and is characterized by many regulations and customs.
The foremost is the prohibition of consuming anything containing yeast – Editor’s note] breadstuffs couldn't be served. My mother was very good at preparing it. For the bigger holidays my mother would buy a pike. Pike were very expensive back then, they cost three crowns fifty a kilo.
Otherwise during the year we had only whitings, in Hungarian "feher hal". They caught them right in Samorin. Yes, whitings, because carp cost two crowns fifty, and pike three crowns fifty. My mother would remove the skin, which would stay whole.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Singer Alexander