As April turns to May, villages across the Gorizia and Trieste regions come alive with an ancient spring ritual – the raising of the mlaj, or May tree. Young villagers decorate tall, slender trunks with leafy branches and ornaments, continuing a tradition shared across Slovenia and beyond.
The village of Dolina near Trieste hosts perhaps the most celebrated version with its Majenca festival. Here, their May tree – known locally as the maj – is uniquely crowned with a cherry tree. The festival, running from Thursday to Monday around the first Sunday in May, marks a profound moment for local youth: their symbolic passage into adulthood. The highlight comes on Sunday afternoon as they gather to dance around the maj, their voices rising in the traditional song Eno drevce mi je zraslo (A Little Tree Has Grown for Me). The festivities conclude with the ceremonial felling of the tree on Monday.
