Osterstrauch At Easter markets, my university campus, and shopping centers, bare-branched trees are decorated with Easter eggs on ribbons. Rachel and I saw this decoration in Vienna as well. This tradition is called Osterstrauch, and it originates in Germany. (Decorating Christmas trees is also originally a German tradition… I guess Germans really like pretty trees.) In the Viennese markets, we saw older women hand painting eggs at their booth.

Pomlázka As I studied in a coffee shop Monday morning, I saw the tradition of pomlázka with the waitresses and their friends. This is the strangest tradition I have seen. It begins on Easter Sunday; young women paint hard-boiled eggs, kraslice, and the young men braid pomlázka, thin willow branches. On Easter Monday morning, young men playfully whip young women and their sisters with the pomlázka branches. The whipping is believed to bring good fortune and fertility. The men sing “Hody, hody, doprovody / dejte vejce malovaný / nebo aspoň bílý / slepička vám snese jiný,” which translates to “Hody, hody, doprovody / give us colored eggs / or at least white Chicken will lay another to you.” The women thank the men with a colored (or plain) egg, a shot of plum brandy (slivovice), and a ribbon to tie at the end of the pomlázka. After 12:00 pm, the whipping is no longer considered lucky, and the woman can douse men with water if they try to whip them.

Mazanec & Beránek After Easter Mass, the English-speaking community at St. Thomas organized an Easter picnic in the courtyard. I tried two traditional Easter loaves of bread baked by the nearby Borromeo Sisters: beránek and Mazanec. Beránek is sweet bread in the shape of a lamb, and Mazanec is a sweet bread made with rum-soaked dried fruit and topped with almond slices. Both were delicious and the perfect pairings with a cup of coffee on a sunny afternoon.

Those are the Czech Easter traditions I experienced! There are more traditions that I did not get a chance to celebrate. On Spy Wednesday, which Czechs call Ugly Wednesday (Škaredá středa), families spend the day spring cleaning their homes and preparing for Holy Week. Holy Thursday, or Green Thursday (Zelený čtvrtek), is a day of fasting and abstaining from meat. Czech eat “green” food like vegetables, or more common, green beer. On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, a wooden rattle, řehtačka, is heard throughout the town to chase away Judas. On Saturday, boys walk to nearby homes shaking the rattle in exchange for money.

In the Czech Republic, classes are canceled on Easter Monday and Holy Thursday. Other countries, like Spain, close campus the entire week. It is interesting to see the differences between Czech and American culture, especially surrounding a major religious holiday. Overall, celebrating Lent, the Triduum, and Easter in Europe is something I always remember.

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PS

I did something that I would have never done in Texas, simply because the opportunity does not exist. Earlier this week, my friend mentioned that Swan Lake was showing at the State Opera Theater, Tickets have been sold out since the show went on sale, but she mentioned that if you check the website, there’s a chance to snatch a dropped ticket. At Sunday brunch, I refreshed the website consistently, hoping a ticket would be available for the last performance at 3:00 pm. I left brunch still without the ticket but went to the theater anyway. When I arrived at the theater 15 minutes before the show, I saw one ticket available! I quickly bought it (I was shocked that it cost less than $30!) and enjoyed my spontaneous trip to the ballet. I’m so grateful for a generous God who gives lavishly (especially on Divine Mercy Sunday) and to live in a city where this is possible and affordable. 🙂

Later this week, I’ll post about my trip to Vienna!