POMLAZKA
( CLICK HERE for MEMBERS version )
We at spankoz became aware of the Czech pomlazka tradition through an article in Janus Magazine many years ago . Our interest was rekindled by a Czech girl who was with us briefly in 2000 . The article below explains this tradition , although we understand that adults use this time for courting and that it is a mark of honour for a woman to be " whipped " by the greatest number of men in the village .
Czech Easter traditions
Many people around the world celebrate Easter in memory of the resurrection of
Christ but with some forty percent of the Czech population atheist, most
Czechs celebrate the holiday to say good-bye to Winter and welcome Spring.
Most customs and traditions show that Easter has very little to do with
Christianity in the Czech Republic.
"A Czech Easter will never be without eggs. The symbol of life is in
an egg. The eggs are beautifully painted and decorated with various techniques
and are called 'kraslice'. It comes from the old-Slavonic term 'krasny' or
red, the symbol of life and fertility. Years ago, kraslice had to be red, like
the colour of blood. The eggs also had to be full because an egg carrying the
embryo of a little chick represents future life.
"But with so many types of decorations nowadays, people want to keep
some of the most beautiful and so people started blowing out the yolk to
decorate just the empty shell. However, most Czechs still stick to the
tradition that when it comes to giving an egg to someone as a gift, it is not
emptied and is personally coloured - then it doesn't matter whether it's as
nice as those you find on the markets."
One prime example of a pagan Czech Easter celebration is the
"pomlazka". Farmers used to believe that a strong whipping after the
winter period guaranteed health, prosperity, and most importantly a good
harvest. This tradition remains to this day, although slightly modified. It is
only the women who are given a good spanking with whips made of willow twigs,
decorated with colourful ribbons (as if a little bit of decoration would help
to ease the pain!). It is mainly younger boys who go from door to door, hoping
to thrash a few girls to get some eggs in return, while singing traditional
Easter carols.
"I love the Easter holidays in general but I never enjoyed Easter
Monday. All the preparations that precede that day were fun - decorating our
home, painting eggs, baking the special Easter bun or the Easter lamb... but
then came Easter Monday to ruin it all. I always tried to hide but somehow
they always found me. Where I'm from, the boys not just run around to whip you
and get an egg or if they are older a shot of home-made brandy - as they do in
Bohemia - they come and throw you in a stream, or put your head under a water
pipe to be sure to give you a good shower... and NOT just once.
Well, Andrea hoped to be spared this year. But I'm afraid no woman, no matter
what age, is safe on Easter Monday. Let's just hope that the spring is really
back in full swing in northern Moravia, so poor Andrea won't catch a cold!
....... 25 March , 2005 , Dita Asiedu , Radio Prague
HOW TO MAKE A POMLAZKA ( MEMBERS )
