Lukács László (szerk.): Märkte und Warenaustausch im Pannonischen Raum - István Király Múzeum közelményei. A. sorozat 28. (Székesfehérvár, 1988)
Lubise Kaspar: Wax-Chandlers and Honey-Bread Men in Karlovac at Fairs and Church Feasts Past and Present
After the Second World War there were 7 wax-chandlers and honey-bread men in Karlovac. In 1948 they were prohibited from working and their property was confiscated. After a short time they were allowed to continue with their business. Only five of them continued to work. The most prosperous of them was Viktor Savinek. Already in 1932 he received a certificate for the quality of his products, as well as a medal and a cup at the International General Trade Exhibition in London. In the post-war period the number of annual church feasts has diminished, especially feasts related to the Eastern Orthodox holidays. Many of Eastern Orthodox churches were destroyed during the Second World War and were not rebuilt. Days of Catholic feasts have grown less in number because of the migration of farmers to towns and cities. So, in recent: times, it has been a matter of mutual agreement between tradesmen as to which one is going to sell his products on a certain feast day, whereas previously several of them would come. Only when there are big church feasts like the Nativity of the Virgin Mary or the Assumption in Kamensko, St.Peter and St.Paul's Day or St.Rock's Day in Duga Rssa, is there an opportunity for all three tradesmen who still work in Karlovac to trade together at a fair. Now they can hardly produce enough products for such big feasts. It happens that during the past five years, church feasts in villages near Karlovac are every year more and more visited. The old and the young, villagers and citizens, all come, everyone with a purpose in mind. Some come to attend church, some to drink mead and eat meat, and others to satisfy their curiosity. Even the emigrants to the U.S.A. plan their visits to their homeland on days of village church feasts (e.g. Lipnik). We have not yet mentioned a certain number of representatives of the younger generation who also visit the places of their origin on these days. The wax-chandlers and honey-oread men manage very well in the present new situation. They move to sell their products on holidays at other villages or towns e.g. on Veterans' Day (4 Duly) at Biljega, on the Day of the Uprising (27 Duly) at DebelaKosa on Kordun. People do not drink mead there, because they prefer spirits or beer in this region, but they buy honey biscuits and other pastry products. Candles are sold not only on days of feasts or for the Blessing of Candles, but also on All Hallows Day (1 Nov) or Remembrance Day in great numbers, to Christians and atheists in cities, towns and villages. Our consumers' society feels the lack of honey-bread men. We have said before that there are only three of them left. The oldest, Antun Bakran, has already retired, but still works occasionally. The second is quite a young man, Vik - tor Hribar. His assistant is his own father, a retired lawyer. The third, Antun Prstec, excels with his skill and the quality of his products; we can say that he is the best in Croatia. The question is whether the present state of this trade, which has such a long tradition in Karlovac, means that it may vanish completely. We hope it may not. 81
