I think
most people have a typical image of Easter, namely spending the day with their
families and friends, maybe attending a church and receiving presents and gifts
in form of Easter eggs and stuff. In Slovakia instead it’s a little bit
different than in Austria and Ireland for example. As it’s likely that you are
going to think it’s absolutely crazy, I would be interested in your opinion on
this. So just let me know :)
As most
Slovakian people are Christians, they celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection as
well, but just in a more uncommon way. I’m going to tell you about my
experience, which was actually more surprising than I thought it would be. I
knew that the typical tradition is that boys and men splash some water in women’s
faces or even go to stranger’s houses with a bucket filled with cold water and
pour it over women. That’s not really nice, is it? But that was just the beginning. In addition they spank women with
a kind of birch made out of wood with strips of cloth tied on it and everytime they get to spank a woman, she has to tie a new strip of cloth on his birch. You might
think now that women are a bit disadvantaged, but don’t worry - they do
something in return. They need to give the men chocolate eggs. Isn’t that
lovely? Hahah
Well, that’s
what normally happens. However, in my case it was all still a bit crazier. The doorbell
was ringing and I went to open the door. Neighbors were at the door and while
one of them took my hands and the other one my legs, they put me under the
shower and showered me with all my clothes on. I had never thought that your
clothes get so much heavier when they are wet haha
I kind of
like this tradition because it’s really not something typical that you see in
everyday life. In Slovakia it’s also not common to exchange presents. The aim
of it is to spend the day together and to enjoy the tradition.
So if you have planned to ever visit Slovakia and to experience something really traditional, then I recommend you to go to Slovakia in the Easter breaks :D
So if you have planned to ever visit Slovakia and to experience something really traditional, then I recommend you to go to Slovakia in the Easter breaks :D