Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

First municipal reuse centre in Slovakia's capital organised Christmas clothes swap. Veronika Hagovská from INCIEN gives advice on how to be more sustainable. Bratislava offers an ecological alternative to dispose of Christmas trees.

Shortly ahead of Xmas, we get back to a feature explaining Vianoce, the Slovak term for this holiday. Shortly ahead of Xmas, head of Promotion at the Slovak Film Institute informs about the fact that several Slovak film classics have made it to international streaming platforms.

Ukrainian children that are in Slovakia will receive Christmas gifts from "Secret Santas". We visit the volunteer centre "Who will help Ukraine?", where Slovaks bring gifts for Ukrainian children who will spend the holidays far from home. Meanwhile, Hanukkah has begun - how did the Jewish community in Bratislava once prepare their holiday menu?

After the premier of his newest film, writer, director and producer Juraj Lehotsky sits down with Ben Pascoe. They discuss Plastic Symphony, making movies in Slovakia and the future of movies.

What does the atmosphere look like in Bratislava at the Christmas markets? Bratislava will set up nearly 800 wooden enclosures for collecting used Christmas trees. The collected trees will be turned into libraries.The children in the kindergarten in the village of Modrová also prepared items for their own markets. A local teacher reveals more about their Together for Christmas project. The Záhorace Museum has created a special Fish on Dry land exhibit for local school students, which focuses on tradition and linking history with the present.

The Vavrinec Benedikt Nedožerský Gymnazium school in Prievidza is switching to distance learning for three days in reaction to mental health problems. Dolný Kubín uses one of the permanently growing trees as the one for Christmas. Ľudovít Winter Hotel Academy in Piešťany organized a Christmas fair and received a special honour.

After 21 years, the Slovak National Gallery reopen its reconstructed premises to the public. RSI spoke to its former director Katarína Bajcurová who closed it in 2001 as well as to its incumbent director Alexandra Kusá who has just opened it. Chief curator of modern and contemporary art collection of the Slovak National Gallery, Lucia Gregorová Stach, places the institution on the map of top European art museums. Tribute to another member of the Slovak National Theatre who has recently passed away.

The Christmas season is also the time of watching films and TV, therefore we will talk movies with experts, who visited this year the Visegrad Film Forum taking place in Bratislava. On the Wednesday show Tomáš Bartonek will speak to the renowned sound engineer Eddy Joseph, who worked on movies such as Harry Potter, Pink Floyd: The Wall and some Bond films, as well as with costume designer Debra McGuire, known for her work on the popular Friends series.

Ben Pascoe talks with organizers of Bratislava Salonky, Slowfood Pressburg and Klima Ta Potrebuje (Climate Needs You) about sustainable and slow living as well as what we can do to have a slow sustainable christmas

In Slovakia, it is common to eat fried carp, potato salad or Christmas cabbage soup during Christmas dinner. However, the sale of live carp has long been in place in Slovakia. Such sales are very popular during Christmas and every year hundreds of thousands of carp in Slovakia experience a real hell. Their journey to the traditional Christmas Eve table is preceded by weeks of fear and painful treatment. Organisation Humánny pokrok draws attention to such business. And what does it look like in the live carp store? Find out in today's show.