Hrvatski
Easter eggs and Easter customs of the Sutlan region
On Saturday, April 9, 2022, the Easter eggs exhibition and Easter customs of the Sutlan region by Tatjana Brlek, the museum's advisor, was officially opened in the Museum "Staro selo" Kumrovec. The exhibition represents part of the rich treasury of folk Easter customs related to life in the Sutla river valley, which includes the area of today's local communities: the town of Klanjec and the municipalities of Kraljevec na Sutla, Kumrovec, Zagorska Sela and Hum na Sutla. The exhibition reveals a wealth of folk and religious elements woven into the tradition that has marked the life of the modest inhabitants of Zagorje who live along the Sutla River for centuries, and in the period of the calendar year from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
The richness of folk Easter customs is shown in the exhibition through descriptions of customs, folk sacred art, depiction of elements from human everyday life, poetry by Željko Taboršak and artistic expression by Reverend Milan Juranić. The presentation of Easter customs is completed with models made by Božidar Iveković, and the special emphasis of the exhibition is on the creation of Easter eggs, painted eggshells, which bear the symbolism of the birth of a new life. In addition to the Easter eggs kept in the Museum "Staro selo" Kumrovec in the Pisanica Collection, which has the status of a cultural asset, the exhibition presents the Easter eggs of elementary school students Josip Broz from Kumrovac, the Easter eggs decorated with kreppapira flowers borrowed from the Museum of the City of Pregrada and the Easter eggs made by the Škalec family. The tradition of making ground, punched and painted Easter eggs was started by grandfather Vjekoslav Škalec-Braco. Grandma Ana and grandson Ivan Luka continued their love for painting egg shells, who presents himself to us as an independent author.
The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a rich program in which the students of the Kumrovečk elementary school participated, presenting the sixth grade project with the mentorship of religious teacher Tomislav Krušlin "What did our elders eat at the world and at five" and the promotion of the work of the student cooperative "Božićnica" under the leadership of teacher Božica Berc. Special interest was expressed in the production of dogwood twigs in the depiction of Vladimir Žnidarc and the production of rifles, flower branches characteristic of the Hum na Sutla area in the depiction of Mrs. Milica Sambolić and her granddaughter. The preservation of intangible heritage is expressed by the interpretation of the songs of Željko Taboršak, performed by Mihael Preglej, learned in the 6th grade.
In the introductory part of the program, visitors were addressed by the head of the Museum "Staro selo" Kumrovec, Anita Paun Gadža, and the director of the Museum of Croatian Zagorje, Jurica Sabol. In addition to the author of the exhibition, Reverend Milan Juranić also spoke about Easter customs. With the arrival of Milivoj Prekratić, the leader of the leprosy lighting workshop and delivering blessed fire to the inhabitants and a few boys with lit feasts with the words "We brought you blessed fire", the exhibition was declared open. The exhibition can be viewed until April 25, 2022.