Time of feasts and entertainment featuring dancing balls and pork festivals, Shrovetide or Carnival season runs between Epiphany, 6 January and the beginning of 40-day Lent before Easter. It culminates on Thursday before Ash Wednesday, traditionally associated with pig slaughters and festivities, therefore called “Thursday Gras”. On that day people should eat and drink as much as possible to gain strength for the whole year. Shrovetide, in Czech “masopust” (meat fasting), or “fašank”, is associated mainly with the last three days before Ash Wednesday. These days villages organize mask parades, theatre performances, feasts, to top it all with a mask ball called “šibřinky”. Besides all the entertainment, the period is also characterized with delicacies including traditional pig slaughter specialties, such as sausages, liverwurst and black pudding, pork rind, smoked meat, blood soup, boiled pork and roasted pork knee. However, sweet dishes are also irreplaceable part of the menu, including doughnuts, muffins, cinnamon potato dumplings with raisins or sweet pastry called “Boží milosti” (God’s mercy) – fried sweet bits from non-fermented dough. On Ash Wednesday, all these delicacies are replaced with fasting meals such as lentils, semolina or potatoes. The upcoming Saturday, 7 February, the town of Hodonín hosts an event called “Lázeňský fašaňk”, offering already a chance of experiencing this typical Shrovetide ambiance. Shrovetide festivities will take place during the whole February all over the country: in Litoměřice on 11 February, in Zadní Třebán on 14 February or in Cheb on 21 February. Come and make a trip to enjoy the unique ambiance as well as pig slaughter specialties. On the beginning of February you can taste traditional pork specialties for example in the restaurant of the Horizont Hotel in Pec pod Sněžkou or in Mlynářská Restaurant in Bukovanský Mill near Kyjov municipality.