Onsten.
Onsten is a Lovian-Oceana feast held on 29 August. 29 August 1881 is said to be the founding date of the town of Hurbanova. The festival has been held since 1895 and therefore it is one of the oldest living traditions of Oceana. Coincidentally, Onsten happens to fall on the same date as the Slovak national day of the Slovak Uprise against the Nazis in 1944.
History[]
Onsten was first held in 1895 as a small gathering of local mine workers to celebrate the fact that the town hadn't had a city fire since 1884. At noon there were only about ten people together to celebrate it, but at midnight almost the entire town had arrived. The following years, the feast was to be held again each year.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the feast became a celebration of the town's founding. There is no evidence that the town has been founded on 29 August, but the local population thought it to be a perfect date. Mayor Dalndklný Úskalie said in 1910: "Thy oshenny populacioun yas eroshutnotten a wea will pot that datum foundaciouna na 29 ougost, as do hen hy seemed do bite u perfect datum." (English: The Oceana population has decided that we will put the date of the founding on 29 August, as to them it seemed to be a perfect date.)
In the second half of the twentieth century, more and more Limburgish and Mäöreser immigrants moved to Hurbanova and with them they brought their culture and traditions. The Limburgish festival vastelaovendj merged with the traditional Onsten feast. There has been a prince (Payns o'that Fease) and a princess (Paynsee o'that Fease) since 1957. Also the Council of Eleven (Keynsil o'Jitness) has been introduced. Since the sixties, abusive alcohol consumption has become a rule of the festival, often accompanied by vandalism and intimidating behavior.
Onsten has not been held in 2008, because of the declaration of independence of the Free Republic of Hurbanova on 30 March by Oos Wes Ilava and Alexandru Latin.
Criticism[]
Outside of Hurbanova, the festival has often been regarded to as uncivilized, because of the alcohol abuse. Twelve people have died from alcohol poisoning since 1972 and thirteen people have been killed by drunks since Onsten's existence. Since 2007, Onsten has also been associated with the Hurbanovan independence movement and several people have pled for the illegalization of the feast.