How to Celebrate Easter Monday in the Czech Republic

Many Westerners may be surprised to find out that although Easter Sunday is celebrated in the Czech Republic, Easter Monday is almost more significant. Their Slavic history reaches back to old pagan fertility rituals that have been carried on through countless generations. Read on to learn how to celebrate Easter Monday in the Czech republic.

Instructions

1. Have all the girls and ladies make Easter eggs from hard-boiled eggs and fresh food items from your fridge and pantry (See Resources below). Traditionally, a few days before Easter, Czech girls imprint designs on eggs by wrapping leaves, flowers or fruit around them tightly. Alternatively they boil their desired vegetable (old onion skins, beets, etc.) and use the colored water as dye. They may also use wax to draw designs on the eggs before dying them.

2. Have the boys and men create a "pomlazky," which is made from long, braided sticks with brightly colored ribbons trailing from its end. Traditionally, boys gather about 10 to 12 young willow saplings, about 2 feet long. They then braid them together, interspersing the saplings with brightly-colored ribbons which are long enough to trail off the end. The pomlazky is a traditional "whip" that is believed to bring fertility. It should be completed at least a day before Easter Monday.

3. On Easter Monday, early in the morning, let the men and boys in the community go from house to house, calling on girls and women they know. They "spank" the girls as a symbol of good luck and fertility for the next year, and the girls give them eggs, chocolates or a shot of homemade plum brandy as a thank you for the blessing.

4. Prepare Easter Monday lunch for the family, with lamb as the main dish. Alternatively, you can substitute actual lamb with a large loaf of bread baked in the shape of a lamb.

5. Stop the visits at around noon and return home for Easter lunch. After lunch, have everyone sing songs about the springtime, the May-pole dances or animals.

6. In the afternoon, the girls and ladies turn tables on the boys and men, and have the chance to throw pails of water or use water guns on the boys to bring them good luck.

Tips & Warnings

• Many shops now sell pomlazkies ready-made, and most people buy them rather than weave them at home.