It is already here. Easter. For someone, it is an important religious time as a reminder of Jesus Christ's resurrection, for someone else maybe just a holiday. Anyway, it is also a time of traditions, and we're coming to you to introduce some of ours! Curious? Keep reading then.
Easter lamb is one of the main traditions. In Jewish culture, it symbolises Israel as a God's flock led by The Lord. For Christians, it is a symbol of Jesus as a "sacrificial lamb" for mankind's salvation. The tradition is to bake the Easter lamb (nowadays it is a pastry kind of lamb) and decorate it with bows. The Easter lamb should not be missing in any family.
Another thing connected with Easter is the Easter Bunny which originates in Germany, and to our culture, it came at the beginning of the 20th century. It is a symbol of fertility, life and happiness. Especially children love it because it happens in many families that the Easter Bunny brings some sweets or fruits to them!
The name "Easter" is a modification of a pagan goddess Eostre. There's a legend that she transformed a frozen bird into a bunny which was so grateful that it started to produce Easter Eggs every spring. That's the origin of the tradition of decorating eggs which should symbolise gratitude and a new life.
There are several ways used to decorate it. First, is just a simple one – with a special kind of colours. Then there is also a possibility to colour it naturally, for example, if you boil it in an onion peel or in water from red cabbage. Another way is to use wax. You cover the egg with wax and create ornaments by a needle. Then sink it in cold water, and when you remove the wax afterwards, the ornaments are nicely visible. For sure there are many more ways, but this is enough for now.
"Pomlázka" (in other words a handmade whip from willow twigs) serves boys for whipping girls not to dry out the whole year and to rejuvenate. During that, one of the Easter carols should be recited. The most well-known is this one:
Hody, hody doprovody,
dejte vejce malovaný,
nedáte-li malovaný, dejte aspoň bílý,
slepička vám snese jiný,
v komoře, v koutku,
na zeleném proutku.
A handmade painted Easter Egg is then given to the boy who whipped her. This happens on Easter Monday. In some cases, as revenge, girls pour cold water on boys the very next day.
We hope that you've gained some new info and feel like you know more about local traditions. Well, enjoy the Holiday and see you all soon!