It feels like it was only a few weeks ago that I was writing about
Christmas in Prague and the wonderful Christmas markets. The reality is that it was fourteen weeks ago, and I'm currently back in Prague, this time enjoying the Easter Markets!
This is my fourth Easter in the Czech Republic and it has been the coldest and wettest by a long shot. I'm only here for a week to sort out a few business things, like my tax, and when I arrived there was still a fair amount of snow around the airport. I had been monitoring the weather from the UK (which was itself under the influence of the so-called Beast from the East) hoping that the conditions would improve before I arrived. Luckily they did, but only marginally, and the clock changes have helped lift spirits as sunset is now about 19:30 so there are about 13 hours of daylight to look forward to.
Easter Markets generally follow the same pattern as the Christmas Markets. They start a few weeks before Easter and end just after and are found in mostly the same locations; Old Town Square, Prague Castle, and Wenceslas Square are the most popular.
 |
| Easter not Chritmas - Staromestska |
 |
Old Town Square
|
Just as with Christmas, there are loads of stalls selling food and drink, and instead of Christmas trinkets, there are wonderful hand-painted, wooden Easter eggs. The Christmas atmosphere gives way to one of freshness and you can feel Spring is in the air. Pastel colours and spring flowers are all around - some places have a small petting zoo where kids can feed the animals, and where there aren't real animals, there are straw ones in their place.
 |
| Straw farm at Hradcanska |
Easter in the Czech Republic is considered a time associated with birth and fertility and there are a number of traditions and customs followed. Although Prague is known as the city of 100 spires, over 40% of the modern population considers themselves atheist, and although much of the religious symbolism is still evident at Easter, the holiday has become more commercial and fun oriented than perhaps it is in other parts of the world.
The festivities start with Ugly Wednesday (Škaredá středa - named for the day of Judas' betrayal) which is used to spend time cleaning up in preparation for Easter. This is followed by Green Thursday (Zelený čtvrtek) when the church bells ring for the last time (in Catholic churches) and priests officiate at rites in green vestments - hence the name. This is a day when you should make sure you eat something green to ensure your health for the coming year. Specially made green beer apparently works just as well!
There are Good Friday (Velký pátek) processions to mark the journey of Christ carrying his cross to Calvary, and on White Saturday (Bilá sobota) the bells start to ring again to mark the start of the Resurrection.
Finally, on Easter Monday (Velikonocni Pondeli) there are street parties and traditionally is a time when women get whipped with a willow rod (pomlázka). This is a fertility rite, and is supposed to make women younger and ensure a year of health and beauty. These days, although you can still buy the pomlázka in the markets, it's not an activity to be practised with strangers or without consent!!!
 |
| Pomlázka - Don't do this at home |
I've always enjoyed Easter in Prague especially as it about the only time of year that you can find plentiful amounts of young lamb in the supermarkets. As a Brit who enjoys a Sunday roast, I usually take the opportunity to stock up the freezer with lamb joints.
Veselé Velikonoce! (Happy Easter!)
No comments:
Post a Comment