Easter


This year Easter Sunday falls on April 12. How is Easter celebrated in the Czech Republic? Which Czech Easter traditions are alive to this day? Find out on these pages.

Easter

The Easter holidays symbolize the end of winter Photo: archive of Radio PraguePhoto: archive of Radio Prague and the beginning of spring and have, just as the Christmas holidays, pagan roots. The pagan Slavs and Germans celebrated the beginning of Spring as the awakening of nature from its winter sleep. The Jews of this period celebrated their own great holiday - Passover, the Holiday of Mercy, in remembrance of the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. More...


Easter Meals

Photo: CzechTourismPhoto: CzechTourism Even before the days of Christianity the symbol of the lamb was widespread in Mediterranean culture, with its long pastoral tradition. For Christian churches the lamb came to symbolize the Lamb of God - Jesus Christ. In the southern Czech Sumava Mountains there used to be a tradition that blessing a lamb would help wayfarers to find their way through the forests. These days lamb is rarely eaten in the Czech Republic, but this does not mean that lamb has disappeared completely from Czech Easter celebrations. It still appears in the form of a cake. More...


Easter Customs

Photo: CzechTourismPhoto: CzechTourism The hand-painted or otherwise decorated egg is is the most recognizable symbol of Czech Easter. Girls decorate Easter eggs to give them to boys on Easter Monday. There are many Easter egg decorating techniques. Different materials can be used, such as bee's wax, straw, watercolors, onion peels, picture stickers. There are no limitations to creating pretty, colorful eggs. Traditionally, Easter eggs, hard-boiled eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked together to celebrate the opening of the Tomb of Christ. More...

How to make the traditional willow whip

The willow whip – or pomlázka - made from braided willow branches, believed to bring health and youth to anyone who is whipped with it, is one of the popular pagan traditions linked to Easter Monday. We‘ll show you how to make your own in a few simple steps.

Place four willow branches in each hand. Pass the first branch from the left side over the top between the sixth and seventh branch and return it to the left inner side. Then take the eighth branch, pass it over the top between the third and fourth branch, then return it to the right inner side from below. Repeat the steps with the other branches until you have made a long enough whip. Tie the top of the whip, so the branches do not come undone.


Easter and the Religion

Photo: archive of Radio PraguePhoto: archive of Radio Prague It is often said that the Czech Republic is a land of atheists. This is true to a certain extent, but there are many cases in which religious traditions have left their mark on Czech life. Easter is one such occasion. Easter, as with Christmas and other such religious holidays, originally has pagan roots. It takes place each year around about the time of the spring equinox. In the Christian Church, Easter signifies the deliverance of the world from evil; this is linked with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. More...


Photo galerry

Easter Customs

Easter eggs

Easter markets


Date Title
14.04.2020 Warm Easter weather draws Czechs out
12.04.2020 Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Easter Mass
11.04.2020 Moravian priest on celebrating Easter amidst a coronavirus crisis
10.04.2020 Easter: Pilsner for the Pope, green beer for Czechs
10.04.2020 Organizers of public Bible reading expect to attract more people than ever this year
08.04.2020 Many parishes to hold online services during Easter
07.04.2020 Czech government loosens restrictions ahead of Easter, but masses and caroling strictly banned
06.04.2020 The Easter Bunny
04.04.2020 Bishops call on believers to spend Easter at home
03.04.2020 Czechs donate millions through coronavirus crowdfunding
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