Celebrating Spring and Easter

For many Christians worldwide, Easter is a joyful occasion that marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ. During this time, they honor his suffering, selfless sacrifice, and resurrection through traditional church gatherings, Stations of the Cross, and vigils. Additionally, Easter coincides with the spring equinox, symbolizing the end of winter and the arrival of spring, a time when nature comes back to life. A typical Czech Easter scene includes grand church towers and the solemn sound of bells, which contrasts with the quietness of Good Friday filled instead with the clattering of rattles. There are also many symbols from ancient pagan traditions, such as whips, colored eggs, and Morana or the Grim Reaper, which are either drowned or thrown from cliffs. Other customs include sweeping the house with green branches or decorating villages and homes with young sprouting twigs. There are even rituals that some view as questionable, such as divination using fire or water, and remembering loved ones who have passed away.

Step by step through Lent and Passion Week to Easter

To make the Easter festivities vibrant, diverse, and full of flavor, they are preceded by Lent, a period of forty days that spans from Shrove Tuesday to Easter. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, just after the lively celebrations of Shrove Tuesday. Each of the six Sundays in Lent – Black, Pražná, Kýchavná, Družebná, Smrtná, and Květná – illustrate how Christianity intertwines with ancient superstitions and traditions. Each Sunday carries its own set of beliefs and customs, but the last two, Death Sunday and Palm Sunday, hold the most significance.

Death Sunday, as its name implies, is the occasion when the Grim Reaper is symbolically carried out and welcomed. A decorated tree or branch, adorned with eggs and ribbons, signals the arrival of a new summer in the village. Palm Sunday marks the final Sunday of Lent and is celebrated with blessed pussy willow branches known as kočičky. These blessed branches played vital roles in home rituals. On Good Friday, individual twigs were hung on a cross, placed beside holy images, tucked behind beams in the attic, or stuck into fields to provide protection for the home and crops from illness, lightning, and other calamities. Palm Sunday also signals the start of Passion Week, which includes Blue Monday, Grey Tuesday, Ugly Wednesday, Green Thursday, Good Friday, White Saturday, and Easter Sunday.

Easter symbols

Every aspect of Easter carries significance dating back to ancient times: the color red symbolizes fertility and the blood of Christ, while bunnies, chicks, and other baby animals, along with the custom of searching for young willow twigs, weaving pomlázka whips, and the act of whipping represent a symbolic renewal of life. Fresh green spring grass or new clothing help remind us of cleanliness, while the miraculous water of Good Friday and the all-important eggs symbolize fertility and new beginnings.

As for the lamb, often considered the star of Easter? It plays a vital role: in ancient times, it was regarded as a sacrificial animal, and in Christianity, it represents Jesus Christ. According to belief, Christ is the lamb sacrificed for the world’s salvation. This is yet another blending of pagan practices and Christian beliefs.

Are you looking for ideas for this year’s Easter celebration?

Traditions you’ll enjoy

You might have your favorite recipes for the tastiest, healthiest, and leanest lamb dishes or Easter bread, but are you aware of any other delightful Lenten and Easter specialties? One example is pučálka, traditionally enjoyed on Death Sunday. It’s simple to make: sprouted peas are either roasted or cooked in butter or can be eaten dry, seasoned with salt and pepper, or sweetened with sugar, raisins, and spices.

A more intriguing dish is called cat’s wedding: it combines peas and groats in a cooked mixture that you can spice up with various ingredients. Another delicious treat is known as cat dance, made by layering a porridge of groats, millet, or lentils with cooked sauerkraut in a baking dish. This dish is topped with crispy lard and fried onions, making it a baked favorite.

Chřástalice or hnětýnky: a delicacy from western Bohemia

In western and southern Bohemia, richly decorated pastries called hnětýnky or chřástalice are enjoyed during Easter, harvest festivals, weddings, and other celebrations. These flat cakes, shaped like flowers, hearts, or circles, are made from stiff, long kneaded dough similar to Linzer cookies and are embellished with various motifs after cooling. The surface is coated with chocolate or white sugar icing, where colorful plastic sugar decorations, like flowers, doves, hearts, are added. You might also see lentils or marzipan used, especially when kids help with the decorating.

If you’re curious to see the most stunning creations, there’s a Nepomucká hnětýnka competition exhibition held every October around St. Havel’s Day in Nepomuk. There, you can admire unique delicacies made by numerous bakers, showcasing extraordinary talent.

How to bring a little spring luck?

Perhaps by reviving some old customs linked with the arrival of spring. While egg dyeing, whipping, or rattling with a rattle is well-known, are you open to discovering fun traditions from other parts of Europe?

• • One popular Easter custom that has also reached us is egg hunting, where the Easter bunny hides eggs around the garden or house.

• • In Slovakia, people not only carry whips but also engage in the traditional practice of pouring water on girls and women or tossing them into a stream.

• • In France, goodies rain from the sky: it’s said that chocolate eggs, chicks, or bunnies are dropped by bells returning from Rome.

• • Across Europe, eggs are used in various games: they can be rolled down slopes, tapped together at the tips, thrown into the air, tossed far away or even over the roofs of houses— the winner is the person whose egg remains unbroken. In some regions, trees are also decorated with colored eggs.