Virtual Culture Tour - Czech Republic and Slovakia

What might happen if you visit Czech Republic and/or Slovakia during Easter?

Well, it depends if you are a man or a woman and what region you visit.

Slovaks are quite a religious nation, so Easter has a big importance. On the other hand, Czechs as the second least religious nation in Europe, stick less to traditions, especially the more west you go.

Up to Easter Sunday, traditions are very similar to those you might know from other European countries – painted eggs, willow buds, church visits, fasting.

But the true fun starts on Monday. The western world is focused on chocolate hunting, here are women in the center of all events.

Men gather into small groups in the morning and walk around their street, village, or town, visiting women they know. The main tools here are whip and water.

By tradition, men whip ladies with a whip they knitted fresh from willow twigs, getting a ribbon tied to their whip by women in return. This shows how many women the man whipped on that day.

In other regions, women get splashed with water (sometimes, in combination with whipping). Yes, lots of water and ideally, when at least expected. So, you can expect (and always get caught by surprise) your brother or father to wake you up with a splash of water directly into your face while still in bed, or pour water behind your neck when making a coffee. Obviously, as a teenage girl, you need to get changed many times during the day as all your classmates pay you a visit. The older you get, the less you need to change, and hitting 25, it´s down to your closest friends and family (feels a bit disappointing).

Men get rewarded for bathing and whipping with a painted egg, food, and drinks.

The tradition might seem a bit bizarre, even savage in a current equal world might evoke subordination of women to men. But that´s not the way to look at it. Both whipping and bathing were and are meant to preserve the health, fertility, and beauty of women. It would definitely not be true Easter without getting splashed or whipped!