On Monday all primary school students and final-year secondary school students in the west of the country will return to school, while those in the eastern half of the country will begin their winter holiday. They will be able to experience the joys of winter throughout the country, since restrictions of movement have been lifted and gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted. All shops and service activities are reopening too, and testing will no longer be necessary for customers and users. There is also a change as regards border crossings: from tomorrow, a negative coronavirus test result can be substituted by proof of having recovered from COVID-19 or a vaccination certificate.

Many things are different this year because of the epidemic, including Carnival season. But this does not mean that there will be no Carnival. While the upcoming Carnival season has necessarily had to adapt to the current conditions, the resilience of the Carnival tradition in Slovenia is demonstrated this year by the fact that numerous places around the country are refusing to give up their Carnival because of the epidemic. Instead, Carnival celebrations will move online and past Carnivals will be remembered via displays of photographs. There are also plenty of opportunities to keep up tradition in the kitchen, for example by preparing Carnival dishes that were popular in the past. This year, then, Carnival will drive away winter online: if you cannot go to Carnival, Carnival will come to you!