 Mar 11 2025

 Ljubljana

St Gregory Day is celebrated in Slovenia to mark the arrival of spring. On the eve of this day, children gather at brooks and streams to send hand-made candle-lit houses and floats downstream in a symbolic gesture of throwing light into water. They are called gregorčki.

The custom revives an old tradition observed in towns with craftsmanship tradition of placing lights into water as the day became longer and artificial light was no longer needed in workshops.

Events featuring the release of gregorčki will be held in several places around the country, including in Tržič, Radovljica and Ljubljana.

In Ljubljana the little candle-lit boats will be released into the Gradaščica near where it flows into the Ljubljanica from 1pm to 8pm. The event will be accompanied by workshops and concerts. In case of rain it will be held at the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum.