Pentecost

In Christianity, Pentecost is celebrated throughout Eastern Europe fifty days after Easter Sunday. Pentecost, aka Whit Monday is also a civic holiday.

As a part of the folk festival during Pentecost, the established tradition in our village is to erect maypoles in front of every house in Hiadeľ. The maypole was usually put up by a young man for the girl he loved. The custom has been preserved and has now spread all over Slovakia, although it is modified a little.

Mostly tall straight trees serve as maypoles, especially firs and pines with their bark peeled off. Their tops were decorated with colorful ribbons. One such decorated tree is put up in the middle of the main square of our village

Maypoles were put up at night and on the next Sunday, the young men went round the houses with maypoles in front of them and they collected "fees" for the coming festivity - the may ball.

Members of the football team TJ Partizán Hiadeľ maintaining this tradition and use the collected fees to organize a disco, where people can dance until dawn...