Easter traditions in the Czech Republic

Small boys for three days go round the village and make terrible noise with special rattling instruments. This old tradition is based on the belief that during Easter time all the bells fly away to Rome, so people needed to know what time it was. Boys go round the village at 5 a.m. , at noon, 3 and 6 p.m. and the last day at midnight. People give them money which they divide among all the participants.

We bake special sweet bread with raisins and almonds at Easter.We eat it for breakfast. It has a big cross on the top. We also bake a sweet cake shaped like a lamb, this easter I baked one also for our friends who do not bake.

Regularly we bake small Easter gingerbread cookies, shaped like eggs, rabbits, hens, cocks, lambs and so on. I decorate them with white icing. We uusually give them to children who come from house to house on Monday to easter carolling. They are only boys, have a special Easter whip made of young willow twigs. They whip girls with this whip and say special easter rhymes. As a reward they are given some eggs, sweets, chocolate and so on.For as I know, this tradition lives only in Czech and Slovak republics, as we used to be in one country for decades before we divided in 1993. The reason for whipping is a belief that freshness from willow twigs will move to female bodies and make them healthy for a whole year.

Easter paper cuttings used like cards.