Velikonoce - Easter
02/04/2015 00:00
We have many traditions during the year in the Czech Republic.
One of them is Easter (Velikonoce in Czech). Velikonoce is a holiday religious and pagan.
Many Czech people don’t eat meat on Great Friday (Velký pátek). We all decorate our homes (houses, flats) with Easter symbols mostly related to spring and beginning of a new life. Everything is around us full of colours and joy. The days before Easter Monday (Velikonoční pondělí) are also full of colours – Green Thursday (Zelený čtvrtek) and White Saturday (Bílá sobota).
Boys and men braide a willow (pomlázka) and decorate it with colourful ribbons. The word Pomlázka comes from an old Czech verb pomladit (make younger). All the girls and women should be symbolically whipped on Easter Monday to be healthy and young :-)
While whipping girl and woman, boys and men say a carol:
Hody hody doprovody,
dejte vejce malovaný,
nedáte-li malovaný,
dejte aspoň bílý,
slepička Vám snese jiný.
Girls and women then give hand-decorated eggs (kraslice) to them.
As the spring is related to new life, you can see many baby animals among the Easter symbols for example: baked lamb (pečený beránek), small yellow chick (žluté kuřátko), rabbits (zajíčci) etc.
Some useful Easter phrases for you:
Veselé Velikonoce! Happy Easter!
Velikonoční pondělí – Easter Monday
Kraslice – Easter egg
Pomlázka – Easter whip
Velikonoční beránek – Easter lamb