Veselé Velikonoce!
Happy Easter!
Easter in the Czech Republic has a sincere and colorful history, celebrated by the public with beautiful traditions and fantastic food. The Czech name for Easter is Velikonoce, made up of two words, Veliké and Noci, literally translates to Great-Nights. This is in reference to the night Jesus Christ’s resurrection in the New Testament. The Czech Republic celebrates Easter in many ways and is known for the great traditions and vibrant Easter markets. Many Czech and Velikonoce customs reflect a celebration of spring, fertility, and youth.
Holy Week
This year Velikonoce falls on April 12, 2020. However, the customs and celebrations will begin with Svaty Tyden or Holy Week. Starting off with “Blue” Monday, which was named after the color used to decorate churches. Next is “Grey” Tuesday, which just means there is nothing special about this day. Then there is “Ugly” Wednesday, where it is believed if you frown on this day, you will always look bad on Wednesdays for the year. “Green” Thursday is when families would need to eat only green frood to be healthy for the rest of the year. This is also the last day you will hear church bells until “White” Saturday. While “Blue” Monday, “Grey” Tuesday, and “Ugly” Wednesday are a part of Holy week, they are also known for days one begins spring cleaning.
The official national holiday begins on Good Friday, which was the day of Christ’s Crucifixion. Mostly practiced in some regions of Moravia, groups of boys would walk through town, shaking wooden rattles or noise makers called rehtacky. This chased away any evil spirits in the community. Today, the boys will stop at every house and rattle until they are given money, with they would split between the group.
Rehtachy
White Saturday is also known as a day for cleaning, cooking, and other preparation for the Velikonoce celebrations. On Easter Sunday, many will join in the Easter church service, and others will host a great meal at their house. Girls will prepare Kraslice the delicately decorated eggs. Boys will start to make Pomlázkas, a braided whip made of Willow twigs, that is used to bring beauty and fertility.
Kraslice
The Czech Republic is well-known for the kraslice, and many Czechs take pride in this tradition. The hand-painted eggs sometimes represent different regions of the country. They are traditionally decorated by using a variety of different materials from straw to beeswax, onion peels, and of course, food coloring and watercolors.
For the Easter Sunday tradition, girls will hard boil the eggs, then decorate them to be given out and eaten later. For the more elaborately decorated eggs that are used for decoration, the egg will be decorated, and then tiny holes will be made on either end of the egg for the yolk to be blown out. Today many brightly colored and highly decorated kraslice can be found throughout the Easter Markets in the Czech Republic.
Pomlanzka
The Easter pomlázka (from pomladit or "make younger") is meant to bring good health, beauty, and fertility upon being hit with it. Boys will go house to house hit girls with the Pomlanzka to bring them good health, fertility, and beauty for the coming year. They are made of willow twigs that are braided together and are tied with different colored ribbons. There is also the tradition of dousing a girl with water, which holds the same purpose as the pomlázka.
This tradition is known to originate from housemaids who were ones to whip her livestock and their whole family to promote good health, beauty, and fertility. While this tradition is not as widespread anymore, the pomlázka can still be purchased at the Easter markets and stores.
Food
While Czech Easter food traditions are not as elaborate as Christmas or other holidays, there are still many traditional dishes that are made today. One of the most popular dishes is baked lamb. But don't be fooled; this dish has nothing to do with meat. Beranek (a baked lamb) is popularly made with gingerbread and mixed with raisins. The lamb represents Jesus Christ, who sometimes called the "Lamb of God" for his sacrificial death.
Another traditional Easter food is the Mazanec. This food is like sweet bread, its made with rum-soaked dried fruits and then topped with shaved almonds. Mazanec is made throughout Holy Week and can also be bought at the Easter markets in the Czech Republic. Another food you would find during Velikonoce is called Jidasky. It is usually made with leftover dough that is braided or made into smaller buns and baked with the other breads.
Written by Karin Lojo