Easter Monday Tradition - the origin

Pictured at the left is a bucket of "korbac" for sale at the Easter market in Bratislava. The origin of the Easter Monday "whipping" is explained below, as cut & pasted from Wikipedia:

Central Europe
In the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, a tradition of spanking or whipping is carried out on Easter Monday. In the morning, men spank women with a special handmade whip called pomlázka (in Czech) or korbáč (in Slovak), the women can retaliate by throwing cold water on the men. The pomlázka/korbáč consists of eight, twelve or even twenty-four withies (willow rods), is usually from half a metre to two metres long and decorated with coloured ribbons at the end. It must be mentioned that spanking normally is not painful or intended to cause suffering. A legend says that women should be spanked in order to keep their health and beauty during whole next year.[21]

An additional purpose can be for men to exhibit their attraction to women; unvisited women can even feel offended. Traditionally, the spanked woman gives a coloured egg and sometimes a small amount of money to the man as a sign of her thanks. In some regions the women can get revenge in the afternoon or the following day when they can pour a bucket of cold water on any man. The habit slightly varies across Slovakia and the Czech Republic. A similar tradition existed in Poland (where it is called Dyngus Day), but it is now little more than an all-day water fight.
In Hungary (where it is called Ducking Monday), perfume or perfumed water is often sprinkled in exchange for an Easter egg.

Advertising

How funny to see the giant face of Bill Gates on a billboard in Bratislava. It looks like he is featured in a magazine publication. Perhaps that magazine is about business? Just a guess that "Profit" means the same in Slovak.

Easter Market

Old Town Bratislava has an Easter market. Much smaller than the Christmas market, it has handcrafts native to Slovakia for sale. By far the most popular are the hand-decorated eggs. They are real eggs - emptied - and decorated using various techniques. Have a look at the slide show and variety and you can see how I've had a tough time deciding how to fill my Easter basket! If you prefer to see the photos larger, you can click on the photos link just below and it will take you to our Picasa stored photos.

On Easter Monday there is a strange tradition that most Slovak women I've talked with say is totally barbaric. They hate it, but say it remains a tradition in the country. The boys in the village go from door to door with a whip (made of twigs) and whip the girls and pour cold water on them. The girls, in turn, give the boys eggs, candy, or, as is becoming the new tradition, cash! This is a tradition we will not try out in our house, needless to say. I did buy a whip at the market. It looks like woven grapevine or branches and has a few colorful ribbons tied to the end - I think that's the whipping part.

Wind Farms in Austria

We are living very close to the border of Austria. We decided to take a day trip to see a city in Hungary that has Medieval ruins. To get there from Bratislava we drove into Austria and then just over the border into Hungary. Our drive was in Austria for about 90% of the trip. Austrian countryside is pretty with vineyards all over and small villages in between. We passed a large grouping of huge windmills. They are used for energy, as the wind through the plain surrounding the Danube seems to be reliable. They are giant - perhaps you can gain a sense of scale from one of my photos........

Since we have been living in Slovakia new laws have gone into place at the border crossings in many bordering countries. There are numerous former Communist countries that are in the process of joining the European Union (EU). Part of the process was the Schengen Treaty. This allows porous borders between many countries. We traveled through three countries without showing our passports at all. There are no border guards at the Austrian border, the Hungarian border or the Slovakian border. This is truly amazing. It makes for nice travel - no delays, no traffic jams. It is more like traveling from state to state in the USA.

School Program for Anya

Anya has been practicing for her school program and the class performed just before Easter break. The two kindergarten classes practiced together and we were treated to their performances of The Farmer in the Dell, Old MacDonald, and Bingo. They also showed their proficiency at having learned their shapes. At the end all the kids got a little paper Easter basket with a chocolate egg w/prize inside!

Here's the little gal performing with all her little Slovak friends.

The Dog in Slovakia

Early on we could see that the canine rules in Bratislava. Dogs are everywhere. They are clearly the pet of choice. Dogs are allowed on the buses, with muzzle only. Dogs are kept in purses (really). Dogs have to wait outside the grocery store, but are seen inside the mall and coffee shops. I spotted this little dog having a walk with his special sweater on. It just struck me as really funny seeing him/her/it, unleashed and walking right along with his "friends".

One pizza spot that we enjoy walking to as a family takes us through a neighborhood of single family homes. As is typical here, each home is fenced all around, and the driveway has a gate with security locks. It is also typical that each homeowner has at least one dog. When we walk by, the entire neighborhood is a cacophony of barking dogs. We found it particularly annoying and decided the only reasonable response was to bark back. We all practiced our barking until we were all having a good laugh. The dogs were going nuts all around and that made it even more enjoyable. Doug swears most of the dogs are really nice and they just want to be petted (okaaaaay, Doug).

Palm Sunday and a solo

Justin was asked to sing a solo at Bratislava International Church on Palm Sunday. Our church had a special children's program in the service. He wore his "handsome" clothes and did a fabulous job singing in front of the congregation. Here's a photo and a video clip. Hope you enjoy it. We are very proud of his willingness to learn the song and his courage to perform it as well.

We have grown attached to this little congregation of English speakers from around the world. Most are from the USA or the UK, but many are English speaking refugees who are in Slovakia to relocate due to trouble in their homeland. The small, historic chapel is also used on Sunday mornings by German and Hungarian congregations - one service before ours and another after. There is a larger building of the Slovak Lutheran church which is next door.

The words are hard to hear on this little video, but I'll copy them here:

Stories of Jesus

Tell me the Stories of Jesus

I love to hear;

Things I would ask Him to tell me

If He were here:

Scenes by the wayside,

Tales of the sea,

Stories of Jesus,

Tell them to me.

Signs of spring

The forsythia are in full bloom! They are a sure sign of spring. The trees are full of buds and some are showing their green. A Bratislava winter has been cold and drab so it's a welcome change . I've seen many people carrying twigs of Pussywillow and some with cut daffodils. Spring is my favorite season with color showing up almost everywhere. The temps are creeping up steadily with chilly mornings and pleasant afternoons. We look forward to spending lots of time outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.

We have an 8-year-old

Today, March 10, 2008 is Justin's 8th birthday. We have had a good day celebrating with him. The school allows parents to bring in a party during the afternoon, so we took full advantage of that! Justin was happy to bring our American traditions to the Slovak children (and one Korean). The Betty Crocker cake mix turned out good enough and the Ready-to-spread frosting made my job easier by far. Five bags of microwave popcorn and some Coca-cola made for enough snacks - and we brought treat bags - something that is not a party tradition here. Those were a hit. We also played musical chairs and a ring toss game.

Here's a little clip of Justin's classmates singing Happy Birthday - I wasn't able to get the entire song 'cuz they started before I was ready!

Six months and some reflection

We passed our 6-month mark of living in Slovakia during a visit from my parents. The past six months have been many things: interesting, frustrating, exhausting and at times, pretty fun.

My own adjustment has been difficult in many ways that I was not expecting. From the outset, I didn't expect the Slovaks to be like the Palestinians. I knew the people kept to themselves and are a reserved population. I also knew that folks would be just like every other person around the world once you get to know them. But knowing all that just couldn't bring me through the daily void of eye contact, smiles, waves, greetings, that are a part of American culture and an even greater part of Palestinian culture. What's so bad about that?

My question exactly. I know I'm not tough. I don't want to be tough, but I have a need to be acknowledged as a person. Earlier in this blog I talked about being conspicuous or ignored, what would you prefer? I was speaking about standing out racially in Ramallah and what that felt like. From this new perspective, I hate being ignored. I know there are some historical issues about that, so I'll sign up for some good therapy when I get back to the US if I'm not cured through this experience. But for now, I feel that most of the contact I have with the local folks is, at best, with indifference and, at worst, getting bawled out. Just today I was returning from the Posta (post office) and a lady was walking her dog. I have no idea what I did wrong, but she stopped me, and I don't think she was giving me a compliment about my hat as she talked and waved her arms. Something about her dog and me? I've been bawled out for leaving a garbage bag in the hallway by a neighbor. We regularly get the pipes clanged on when our kids' stocking feet make noise on the floor. Anya got a good scolding from someone after she, in frustration, threw a sport bottle of juice on the ground. A bus driver hollered at Doug for bringing the stroller in the wrong door of the bus. While Justin was reading aloud on a train a lady yelled "SHUT-up". That word we understand - all the rest of our scolding/getting bawled out is in Slovak. We don't understand a word. Really, not one word! But an attitude and tone can be communicated clearly without language.

So, dear friends, this has all taken a toll on my feeling of well-being and a little bit of my dignity. I always felt good in Ramallah when I could share a smile with someone. Even though I spoke just a tiny little bit of Arabic, much can be communicated with a smile. Touch was common in Palestine - where language failed, you could touch a small child, give a double kiss to an old woman.

I have some new friends here who are helping me understand this new challenge. In particular, having come from the Palestinian culture to the Slovak culture. These may be the two most difficult cultures to have back to back and adjust to. They are helping me by telling me I'm not crazy needy (who wants to be that??) and that it isn't me, it's the culture. And these are people who have lived with or worked with Palestinians! Isn't that amazing that we are here in Bratislava together?

I'll post some photos of my parents' visit shortly. We had a good time together, getting caught up, seeing some of the region. I finally got to Vienna, Austria to look around and got more experience on the train and metro systems w/o the guys. I'm getting more adventurous each day.