Red Monday
Easter Monday practices, regarding guys pouring liquid over girls and gently beating all of them with braided limbs, will be the many questionable of Easter traditions. Because the non-native’s Guide to residing in Slovakia explains, a€?if you are not Slovak and performedna€™t develop around these customs, many times them at besta€”odd, at worsta€”barbaric.a€?
Exactly what? by Laura Appleyard, made use of under a Creative Commons license.
Just what exactly takes place exactly on Easter Monday? The Czech regular globe clarifies the pomlA?zka whipping custom:
Throughout the day guys (usually in communities) see their own feminine loved ones and family and spank all of them with special whips. [a€¦] These whips were hand-made from willow rods, the space range from 50 centimeters to two m. Discover ribbons at the end. There had previously been a tradition that women would include their ribbons and so the whip would say exactly how many lady this people has already seen but this seems to fizzle out. And women are chased around (as long as they decide to enable it to be interesting or perhaps to play along), or they simply stay inactive additionally the male customers would spank her buttocks. However, it cannot injured. Or at least not throughout the whole therapy.
The Foreigner’s help guide to surviving in Slovakia describes the reason why willow branches are widely used to make pomlA?zka (to create korbA?A? in Slovak): a€?It is the very first tree that a€?wakesa€™ in spring season and, per folk custom, the fertility and vigor from branches were thought to circulate inside woman in this work.a€?
Czech spouse Diary describes the change taking place throughout whipping:
If you were one of the primary homes the mob visited, you were fortunate: the guys are nevertheless sorts of sober, style of courteous and sort of mellow. Individuals allow the chips to to the family area a€“ or better a€“ just a hallway, let them have some refreshments, offer them more vodka and let them a€?spanka€? you. When they still have her egg containers, you’ll additionally content couple of egg in them and if you are fortunate they put afterwards.
PomlA?zka beating for the community of HA™Achovice, near Pilsen.
Tischler’s in Prague published an article from the Prague routine watch on an US woman’s reaction to the custom:
a€¦men and kids [a€¦] go door-to-door singing Easter carols, requiring a€?treatsa€? (eggs, candy, liquor, or a peck from the cheek) in addition to straight to defeat the women using their pomlA?zka whips once and for all luck. While my female college students stated they typically enjoyed decorating Easter eggs and planning Easter desserts, not one seemed as well partial to the pomlazka or gendered customs. [a€¦] getting both feminine and a foreigner, we introduced a problematic circumstance. Should all of our hostess supply me personally chocolate eggs and liquor as she performed their male friends? Should she offer myself absolutely nothing? All things considered, I happened to be given a warm welcome and one cup of red wine.
Along with whipping, Easter Monday also requires dousing. In accordance with the trips of chief Oddsocks, in some areas the girls manage to get thier revenge on 
Tuesday whenever ita€™s their unique change making use of whips, whilst in different parts they return the rejuvenation with a bucket of ice-cold liquid. In Slovakia, however, it appears that it’s the babes who bring watered on Easter Monday. The non-native’s self-help guide to Living in Slovakia explains the ritual:
a€¦ita€™s customary for the ladies and females to stay at home whilst the men and guys, often wearing nicer garments and sometimes even in kroj a€“ standard costume outfit, go from the residence of a single in accordance with another, taking greetings and intending to oblievata€™ a€“ to a€?watera€? the female relation present. H2o could be the expression of lifetime as well as the gushing of water try a gesture supposed to bestow year long health insurance and beauty. Some utilize a spray of cologne in place of h2o, or both. Isna€™t that wonderful? The ladies folk get watered and whipped whilst the men have given and offered products, therefore the little males are shown cash or chocolates in exchange for their jobs of the day. Simply so you understand, are watered vary from creating a teaspoon of hot regular water dribbled over your (our event), to a bucket of frigid properly water thrown at you.