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MTW Czech Republic |
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Easter Easter is not as big a holiday as in the United States. The official state and school holidays include the Friday before Easter and the Monday after Easter. Most people that live in the bigger cities leave the city and go to cottages or relatives’ homes in the country. The youth groups at our church has had a week-end retreat during this week-end, and if our children participated in the retreat (which was often), we were not able to celebrate Easter as a family. Eggs are dyed, but often with natural dyes, an example–onions give a yellow color. Eggs in the Czech Republic are brown, but sometimes white eggs can be found at Easter. One fantastic craft that is a specialty of Easter Europe, is to hand paint hollow eggs. The eggs are intricately done and beautiful. There is no Easter bunny and eggs are not hid. The eggs are mostly used for decoration or given to boys who come to visit girls on Easter Monday (explained below). Small branches from trees are put in a vase and eggs are hung from the branches. Baking is an important part of Easter. There is no special meat or meal on Easter, but “Easter Lamb” cakes are baked. You have to have a special mod for this and every good wife and mother will bake an Easter lamb. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are the “religious” part of Easter, although I will say, there is usually low attendance, because, as mention above, many people leave. Most churches, protestant and catholic, have special services on both days. No one ever considers the need to buy new clothes for this occasion or to dress any better than normal. The Monday after Easter is an official holiday and is the “secular” part of Easter. On this day, especially in smaller towns, the boys go after the girls. The boys make a type of switch out of flexible branches. The girls are supposed to have eggs and/or sweets. The boys go from house to house reciting a poem that demands either an Easter eggs or candy from the girls. If the girls don’t give the boys something, but boys can switch the girls (if they can catch them). In some places the girls add ribbons to the boys’ switch and boys compete to have the most ribbons. Most Czechs do not celebrate Easter for the real reason. People need to hear and know the message of Christ’s resurrection and the Gospel of Grace. by Becky Chaplin |
Send Email to Hans Deutschmann at
hdeutschmann@mtwczech.org for information about the team or serving.
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