Czech Easter: we spank women because we love them. No violence involved.

Czechs and Slovaks have a very unique way to celebrate Easter. One one hand, women decorate eggs, just like women of many other nations (the Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Romania). But we also, well, beat up women…

Let’s explain…

It is a tradition in the former Czechoslovakia that women are spanked (or whipped) on Easter Monday. Men go door to door visiting their relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbors etc. They carry special hand-made whips that are made out of several (4-10) willow rods with ribbons on the end that touches the woman’s butt when she is spanked. Some really elaborate whips can be up to two meters long, they are used especially in villages where boys wear traditional national costumes.

The spanking is rather “symbolical”. It means it is not violent and it should not hurt. However, some men use rods that do hurt a bit. The symbolism of the spanking is to show that the men care about the woman who is being spanked. In return, the woman should give eggs to the men. Alternatively, chocolate rabbits and eggs are given (especially to young boys who would not appreciate a large number of hard boiled eggs), and adult men are often given a shot of alcohol beveage, especially home-made slivovitz (plum brandy).

Probably the only awkward element of this tradition is that the men shall recite a special Easter saying which “explains why they came and what they want the woman to do”. Adult men usually avoid it and they just yell like animals, while young boys who are taught to “recite slash sing” it still do it, especially when spanking aunts and grandmothers. Loosely translated, one of the sayings means “give me a colored egg, or at least an ordinary white egg, your chicken will lay some more” blah blah blah.

The photo is (c) Getty Images.