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Easter holidays are one of the most celebrated holidays especially by christians. Easter starts with Maundy Thursday then Good Friday, which is the day when the Son of God, Jesus was crucified. At this day christians are allowed to eat 2 only times then comes Holy Saturday. Easter Sunday the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead and also many families go to visit each  other. Our family go to church every day. Easter is a special holiday because it is time for family reunion and celebrate God and on Easter Monday boys go to splash girls so they can stay pretty and heatlhy.

TK

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The Easter season begins 40 days before Easter Sunday on Ash Wednesday, it is called Lent. Christians prepare themselves for Easter. They use this time to remember the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. People give up eating meat or chocolate or drinking alcohol. There are four important days during holy week – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

Easter is also celebration of spring and fertility, of nature coming back to life after the long cold winter.

Easter Monday in Slovakia is full of fun (for boys). The boys have a plaited willow cane and a small bottle of perfume and they visit the girls. They hide somewhere in the house and when boys find them, they start whipping them on the legs and bottom. They say traditional rhymes while doing this. Then they pour the perfume on the girls’ hair. The girls give the boys some cakes, chocolate Easter eggs, painted eggs or some money.

PO

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We used to have a typical traditional Slovak Easter. But when we started to visit Ireland and we spent there some time we liked some of their Easter traditions, so our Easter has changed. We go to church on Easter Sunday, we bake and cook together, boys splash us with water but our new tradition is Easter egg hunt. We buy some small gifts to every member of the  family, we put it in colourful eggs and then we hide it. Each person has one specific colour. The next morning we all go for an egg hunt. I really like it because parents sometimes hide money in these eggs and other useful things.

NM

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Easter is important time of the year among all Christians, since we remind ourselves that Jesus died and then rose back from the dead. Even though we as a family celebrate it in typical Christian way, I like to think of Easter as saying hi to spring, since that's why it was originally celebrated by Pagans.

We decorate our home with fresh flowers, Easter eggs and lambs' tails. This is usually done by my younger sister and me, while our parents cook. Later, my mom and I bake different types of cakes with multicolored toppings and traditional Easter donut, which is eaten with ham and vegetables.

For me, the worst part of Easter is Monday. Boys and men come to our house and mercilessly splash water on girls while expecting money in return and saying that we will be healthy and beautiful. Well, do I have a message for you, boys. I never stay healthy when I'm forced to be splashed by cold water. Fortunately, this year wasn't that horrible since there was only our father who did this, but still, I don't like being woken up by a bucket of ice cold water into my face.

Here you can see a photo of our homemade Easter donut and chocolate decorations.

kj

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Our Easter traditions are the same as for most Slovaks. We go to the church every day during Easter, because it is the biggest holiday for Christians.

Before Easter, the tradition is to clean the whole house or apartment. This is not the rule, but most of us do. My mom and grandma and I will always take care of this. In addition, we bake various tasty cakes and make potato salad. During Easter Monday, my brother and dad splash us with water so we will be  healthy and beautiful for the whole year. Boys receive eggs or money for splashing girls. Most girls don't like this holiday because they have to change clothes many times. The boys splash us with full buckets of cold water. Boys only splash girls until 12 o'clock. It is said that only ugly girls are splashed in the afternoon.

Easter is a symbolic holiday, because all families meet again and spend time together.

In the photo attached below, you can see the whip made of branches.
NU

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The traditions for Easter in my family are the same every year, without fail. However, this year was completely different because of the strict quarantine rules and not being able to see or visit others. I'm gonna talk about our "usual" Easter, since this year's was pretty boring.

My household always starts the day bright and early, as soon as 7 AM. We all prepare and eat breakfast together. After our breakfast has been completed, me and my mom go back to the kitchen to make some treats and snacks for all the guests who are going to be coming all morning. We set the table with some cookies, cakes, crisps and a few sandwiches.

After our appartement is in full "Easter-mode", the not so fun part comes, the water splashing. Since I refuse to do it voluntarily, my dad has to carry me to the bathtub, where he and my brother throw cups of COLD water on me, later on my mom too. And to thank my dad and brother, me and my mom, whom have just been sligtly tortured, have to give them some kind of gift to thank them for pouring water on us, which is supposedly gonna make us beautiful and healthy during the year (I definitely don't agree with this philosophy). This gift is usually chocolate of some sort, like bunnies or eggs, sometimes money too.

After my dad and brother have done their "job", they leave the house to go to my grandparents', aunt's, cousins' and friends' houses to "make the women there healthy and beautiful", too.

Untill 12 PM, me and my mom are at home welcoming our guests, like my grandpa, uncles with cousins and godfather. Basically, the more guests means more water, wet clothes and fake smiles. On the bright side, if someone comes to the door past 12 PM, we have the right to send them away, because it's not the morning anymore.

In the photo attached below, you can see some of our traditional decorations and Easter chocolate sweets! (One of the very few good things on Easter for me is the fact that my mom always gets me these sweets, too!)

Michaela Š

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The Easter is the biggest event in the year for Christians. The reason is because Jesus, Son of God, was crucified. On the third day, he rose from the dead. In our family, we go to the church every day. The biggest holiday for our family is the Easter Sunday. The day when Jesus overcame death. On Sunday, we have a holiday lunch. I like Easter because I can spend time with my friends and family. The symbols are Easter bunny, Easter eggs… Typical Slovak tradition is splashing girls with water. It is symbol to stay pretty and healthy for girls.

MŠ

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In my family, we follow almost all the traditions that they get used to doing in Slovakia. We are Christians, so our tradition is to go to church (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday).
With my mom always put in a vase beautiful lambs' tails and decorate them with Easter eggs. Also, we decorate our home with Easter bunnies, eggs, sheeps and everything related to it (everything is sewn by my mom). Me, my sister and mom bake various cakes or savory delicacies and also prepare potato salad.
For me, the best day is Easter Monday. Girls and women usually do not like it, because boys splash water on them or they use fragrances. Thanks to this, girls should stay healthy and beautiful. Girls usually give them a reward (Easter eggs or money).  I like when boys use bucket of water, but my father and brother do not do it. ☹

I like Easter, but not as much as Christmas.

You can see some photos of our decorations below.

SS

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Easter is one  of the most important holiday for most of the Slovak people. We celebrate the death and coming back to life of Jesus. Usually Slovak people celebrate this holiday by painting on eggs, baking a cake in the shape of a lamb and of course the tradition called 'šibačka' where men splash really cold water on women and then "gently" smash with whip made of wooden sticks. This is supposed to make the women beautiful and keep them healthy the whole year. (If they don't get sick the next week because of the cold water). In exchange for the beauty and prevention from being sick, women give men money, alcohol or sweets. I believe originally it were supposed to be the painted eggs.
My closest family doesn't really celebrate it anymore and I wasn't even splashed with cold water this year which I find pleasant as I don' t like this holiday.  It might be because of the restrictions. We didn't really prepare any decorations, but my mom bought the baked lamb and we put chocolate eggs around it. We used to have more decorations like eggs painted by me and my sister and flowers and stuff but since we knew that no-one would arrive this year we didn't use them.
AS

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Slovak traditional Easter days start on Moundy Thursday. During this feast, my family gets going to prepare our home for this event. Me with my mum bake some cakes, cook some delicious food and clean all the space. Also, I can’t forget decorating when our home is full of rabbits, easter eggs, and flowers.

This year´s Easter was wholly different from the others because of a pandemic. I surmise the only advantage of the epidemic situation is that boys didn’t come with a bucket full of cold water, which they want to splash on me!!  But my brothers took care of this “rule” anyway :(( Because of this habit, I always ended up in a freezing stream. Guys say that we should stay hEaLtHy and pReTtY thought the following year. Trust me, you don’t want to have experiences with it. As a “thanks” guys receive money, chocolate, and also colourful ribbons for their knouts.

But on the other side, there are delicious food from cakes, potatoes salads, cutlets to any other delicates.  So, I can tell that there is balance hah.  Easter is a pretty event, but I appreciate less water.

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Easter is one of the most important holidays in Slovakia. A time when families visit each other and bond together over well-preserved traditions in the beautiful magic of spring nature.

In my family, we start our Easter by collecting fresh lamb's-tails.  We put some of them behind our family picture because it's believed to protect a house from thunderstorms and sickness. Then next week, we follow other traditions such as:

On Holy Thursday, we cook green meals.

On Good Friday, we can eat only three meatless meals per day (except fish meat).

On Easter Sunday, we eat scrambled eggs cropped by holy water for breakfast and go to church.

Finally. on Easter Monday, girls are splashed with water and whipped with a whip called korbáč. This ritual is supposed to help girls stay pretty and healthy. After that girls put colorful ribbons on the whips and give boys money, sweets or sometimes even alcohol.

In the end, Easter is a very peaceful holiday that brings traditions and families together.

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 Easter in Slovakia                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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 Easter in Slovakia                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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The most popular Christian holiday is Easter. In Slovakia we celebrate Easter for 5 days – from Thursday until Monday. Every day has its name and importance: Holly Thursday (Green Thursday); Good Friday (Big Friday); Holy Saturday (White Saturday); Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. We fast for 40 days leading up to Easter, which ends on Good Friday. People should stop consuming meat during these days. Good Friday is the most important fast day of the year.

Easter preparations typically begin on Green Thursday, when women prepare traditional Easter dishes and treats. The foods most typical for the Easter are Paska bread, egg cheese – Hrudka, smoked pork ham (of lamb), bacon and sausages, hard boiled eggs and various pastries. Dishes are prepared from green Thursday to white Saturday, and on Saturday, a sample of each prepared dish is brought to the church in a wooden basket for blessing. The blessed food from the basket can be eaten for breakfast on Easter Monday.

Easter decorations

Before we get into the actual Easter traditions that Slovaks follow on Easter Monday, I'd like to talk about our Easter decorations. Lamb, little bunnies, little yellow chicks, and painted egg shells known as "kraslice" are all representations of Easter in Slovakia. Kraslica is an eggshell with two small holes on one side and one wide hole on the other. The egg inside the shell has been blown out. Different methods are used to decorate the eggs: the ornament is drawn with melted wax, the egg is then painted, the wax melts, and a white ornament is left on the color context. I also used water colors as a child, with which I painted various objects on Easter eggs. Today, many people also use stickers to decorate Easter eggs, which, when placed in boiling water, are fixed on the Easter egg and create an image.

Easter in Slovakia is represented by 3 species of bushes. The bushes are called “zlatý dážd” (golden rain) and “bahniatka.” People collect the branches and put them in the water. Then they hang their kraslice and other decorations on them. The third one is willow. Willow branches are used to make "korbáč" by men. They use it to whip single girls on Easter Monday.

Splashing and whipping on Easter Monday

Slovak women and girls are splashed with cold water – known as "Oblievacka" – and whipped with "korbáč" – known as "šibačka" – on Monday mornings in order to remain fit and attractive for the entire year. Villages have a more vibrant version of this tradition than towns. A group of young men dressed in traditional folk costumes drags girls out of their homes and splashes them. There are rattles and braided whips with colorful ribbons included.Women reward men with candy, fruit, money, painted Easter eggs, or ribbon for their korbac after the oblievačka and šibačka.
TB

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Traditions in Slovakia are really weird and I think, no… I KNOW that women hate it. You may ask me why.

Well, on Easter Mondays, boys and men splash COLD water on girls and women (“oblievačka”). Then, they even whip us (“šibačka”). If this is not enough for you, girls and women even GIVE THEM A REWARD (usually a chocolate egg/bunny, decorated egg called "kraslica" or money). And the only thing girls and women get is cold and bruises...
Well, and that’s the patriarchy and gender inequality in Slovakia…

However, not in my household. Our dad does this on Mondays and me, my sister and my mom on Tuesdays :).

Here is a photo of me and my sister splashing a water on my dad a few years ago 😁.

AK

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In my opinion here in Slovakia we have really weird Easter traditions but anyways let me say about them a bit to form your own opinion.

Firstly we paint eggs which we then give to the boys as a “reward” for splashing us with cold water and whipping us with whips made of branches. To make matters worse, we give them money, chocolate and sometimes alcohol. You may ask what we girls have out of this. I would say nothing but they say we will be “healthy and beautiful” for whole year. Let’s believe it.

And in the photo you can see our decoration, painted eggs and traditional Easter animal rabbit.

AZ

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Slovak traditions are really weird. Boys whip girls with a whip and splash them with cold water to "stAy yOunG aNd beAuTifuL" for the entire year. The boys get sweets and money for doing that. It's really unfair and quite misogynistic.  Me and my family eat mayo salad and smoked meat for easter dinner. My mom, sister and I make some baked goods. Spring cleaning isn’t really a tradition but a lot of slovak families do it.

Here you can see me getting thrown into a tub filled with cold and DIRTY water. How is this supposed to keep me beautiful?!(Sorry for the bad quality).

DS

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In my family, my mum before Easter always makes very beautiful decorations. It consists mostly of rabbits, easter eggs and lots of flowers. It’s all the symbols of Easter. My whole family used to come on (Easter) Sunday, but since it’s pandemic situation, I celebrated it with my closest with good caffé and movie. J                                                                                                                                                                               However, traditional customs are that boys always splash girls with really cold water, to let them be beautiful and healthy for the whole year. Girls give them chocolate egg/something sweet or money. I personally don’t like these traditions. I always end up ill. After this, boys come with thing called korbáč (Easter Whip) and whip  us while telling some poet about Easter. Ridiculous, right? These are always on Monday. People use to go to church to celebrate Jesus resurrection.

Those are our famous traditions. I really like Easter Holiday, but I would appreciate less water.

V

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To be honest, Slovakia has some really interesting as well as cruel Easter traditions. Don't believe me? I'm about to tell you a little about those happening in my surroundings.

First of all, guys are coming to our place all day long just and only to splash cold water on us (girls). And wanna know why? Just so that we'll stay healthy and pretty throughout the next year. Ironic, isn't it? There are also some 'empathetic' guys who bring perfume to spray on us which is very kind if we're used to ending up soggy from all the water spilled at us with the necessity of changing our clothes.

Second of all, while we are soaking wet, here comes another tradition. Guys bring a wicker rod tangled into a knout (in my village it's usually self-made) with which they whip us and it's again supposed to make us stay healthy and pretty. The outcome of this tradition is usually pretty painful. Just imagine being in damp clothes while guys are whipping you with knouts ... Painful, right?

As a 'thanks' for doing so, guys will receive money, Easter eggs, colorful ribbons for their knouts, and get a little catering on the spot which usually consists of homemade sundry pastries and cakes, little sandwiches, many various kinds of cheese, and ham, and salami and many other delicious things.

Easter holiday in Slovakia is not really fair towards girls and women. While we have to be changing our clothes so often that we seriously have nothing to throw on ourselves anymore with to-be bruises on our hips, guys are just walking house to house, making girls uncomfortable and receiving money and other things for doing so.

You would think that many people (especially females) don't really like Easter Holiday - mostly because of already mentioned traditions with the whole holiday sounding terrifying, but it also can turn out to be a lot of fun. So despite all of the things that are traditionally going on, we always find a way to make the most out of it and enjoy the Easter Holiday.

(in the photo, my friend was thrown into a freezing stream and still smiling)

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This year´s Easter was completely different from the ones before due to the pandemic.  Which was, to be honest, pretty amazing.

The traditional Easter is really unfair for the girls and women. Boys/men throw buckets of water on the girls,  whipe them with whips made of branches so we (girls/women) stay pretty and heathly. Girls then usually give boys some money or sweets. So during this day, girls have to change their clothes multiple times and it can be really unpleasant if the temperatures are low and we are being splashed on all day. Some of the traditions are also Eastern eggs than girls also give boys as a reward. We have traditional Easter animals as lamb and bunnies.

This year´s Easter was one of the best Easters for me. We spent almost all day home and watched multiple movies and tv shows. The weather was really cold so there was no water. I got to meet my family and spent some quality time with them.

SM

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One of Slovak traditions is that boys get sweets mostly chocolate eggs and sometimes also money from girls for splashing them with water and whipping them with whips made of branches so they stay pretty and young for the entire year. It is pretty unfair, isn't it?

Our traditional Easter animals are lamb and, as in other countries, bunny.

NK

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The most known Slovak tradition in Slovakia is splashing girls with water so they stay pretty and healthy and they gently beat them with wicker sticks and they also get sweets and money for it. Some people do it drastically and they splash even a full bucket of cold water, but in my family, we do not do that, we just symbolically splash a few drops of water and that's all.
Also, most of the people here are Catholics so they use to go to church through the Holy week.
TP