Many see Easter or “Velikonoce” in the Czech Republic as a sign of spring while others celebrate it as part of a Christian holiday. For Czechs, it is a time of great celebration, often paired with traditional foods. Here, we explain to you the Czech Easter traditions that include unique customs with Pagan origins:
Velikonoce begins with Ugly Wednesday (Škaredá středa) in which families spend the day cleaning their homes. Green Thursday (Zelený čtvrtek) is traditionally a day of fasting, where you are encouraged to eat green foods like lettuce, spinach, and cabbage to encourage good health for the remainder of the year. Today, healthy foods have been replaced with green beer… you know… because of the nutritional values. (If you want to learn more about green beer, see the link at the bottom.
In the evening of Green Thursday to Good Friday (Velký pátek), and into White Saturday (Bílá sobota), boys will walk around the village or town and shake wood rattles (řehtačka). On Saturday, they stop at each house and create a raucous environment until they are given money, which they split between themselves.
On White Saturday, Czech homes are filled with the delicious aroma of baking from stuffing (nadivka) to a sweet Easter bread made with almonds and rum-soaked raisins (mazanec) and the treasured cake in the shape of a lamb (beranek).
Easter Sunday (Neděle velikonoční) is the day boys and girls prepare for Easter Monday. Girls color eggs and boys prepare their pomlázkas. A pomlázka, is a whip made by fastening and twisting young willow twigs.
Early on Easter Monday (Pondělí velikonoční), boys go around and cautiously whip girls with their pomlázkas. As they carefully whip the girls, the boys sing a carol. The girls will then give the boys an egg and tie a ribbon around the pomlázka. The whipping is thought to bring fertility, beauty, and rejuvenated youth to the girls for the rest of the year.
Like many of the traditions that we in the United States hold, these Czech traditions might appear strange, but they are a part of the culture and customs of the Czech Republic.
What are your thoughts about these traditions? Does your family or culture hold particular springtime customs? Please share your thoughts in our comment section.
Written By: Jordan Luce