Travega: Easter in Eastern Europe (tongue tied yet?)

After visiting five Easter markets in four different countries I have to consider myself somewhat of an expert on the tourists' guide to this beautiful time of year in Eastern Europe. Easter is a time for some great cultural experiences in Eastern Europe unfortunately a lot of it today is over touristy and the crowds can be more annoying than fun.

Most cities have Easter markets where there is food, hand painted eggs, craft items and souvenir items. There are Easter markets in Prague in Wenceslas Square,Old Town Square and off Narodni Trida, Andel and probably lots of other metro stops. They sell some traditional foods and there are performances and music. It is a great way to spend a few hours and great for gift buying.

After visiting the Easter markets in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary, Bratislava, Slovakia and Prague I do have a favorite.

Vienna's Easter market surpassed all of these others in selection of hand painted eggs they were so gorgeous! Unfortunately they aren't cheap (on the euro in Vienna remember?) but I wished I had bought eggs here. Regretfully I decided to wait til I got to Prague and found that the selection here is minimal. Probably the most disappointing of all these Easter markets was Prague's. Most of the items are things you'd find in a souvenir shop-and it'd be cheaper elsewhere. Budapest and Bratislava as well as Vienna had a lot more items hand crafted from locals in the area not this commercialization as you can see in Prague.

Overall, though, any Easter market is a good Easter market!

TRADITION

I also wanted to touch on some of the traditions here in the Czech Republic for Easter. It is a most celebrated holiday here although there is not much of a religious following. On Green Thursday before Easter boys in the village come together with wooden rattles especially made for this tradition. The group walks through the village with their rattles so the noise can be heard from all parts of the village. The meaning is to chase away Judas. This repeats on Good Friday and White Saturday when the boys stop at every house and rattle until they're given money!

You've probably all seen the impeccably designed Easter eggs in Eastern Europe. They are traditionally designed by young girls to give to boys on Easter Sunday. The boys prepare their pomlázkas which includes Pussywillow twigs and ribbons. Its original purpose and symbolic meaning is to chase away illness and bad spirits and to bring health and youth for the rest of the year to everyone who is whipped with the young pussywillow twigs. One of my teachers told me that this derives from Roman times when the soldiers would pass through small villages in the area and the girls would fawn over the handsome men and come from the villages to meet them. The men would touch their arms with their weaponry and materials packed on the horses as they rode by and the girls took it as good luck! ANYWAY- On Easter Monday boys will whip girls lightly (or not so lightly) on the legs and possibly douse them with water, which had a similar symbolic meaning. The boys do this while they recite an Easter carol and asks for an egg from the girl who he just hit with a twig and doused with water! The girl will reward the boy with a painted egg or candy and then tie a ribbon to his twig. This tradition is still largely upheld, especially in villages and small towns, although it may have lost its symbolism and romance and is now performed mainly for fun. Some boys and men seem to have forgotten that the whipping is supposed to be only symbolic and girls don't always like that. The reward has also changed - money and shots of plum brandy (slivovice) are often given instead of or in addition to painted eggs and candy. So by early afternoon, groups of happy men can be seen staggering along the roads... All that aside, Easter remains one of the most joyful holidays on the Czech calendar. More on the holiday: http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_holidays/easter/