SourceThe most bizzare Slovak tradition (and one of the weirdest worldwide, I believe) is our Easter whipping&watering. Yes, whipping. To be specific, whipping of women and girls by their fathers, brothers, other male family members or just random guys on the streets.
https://www.tvojtrebisov.sk/category/media/fotoreport/
What, when and why?
My brother @matkodurko wrote a really nice post about this tradition few months ago if you’re interested, so I’ll just explain quickly.
The old folk tradition says boys have to pour water&lash girls on Easter Monday to ensure they‘ll be healthy, beautiful and fertile. And as a reward the floggers receive painted eggs, chocolate, alcohol and nowadays also some money. Well.. okay.. traditions... And I DO believe we should preserve them. But throwing a woman into the ice-cold mountain stream in March (sometimes we still have snow on Easter Monday), throwing them a bucket of water right to the face or shooting at them with a firefighter hose is definitely not alright. So guys, be honest, do you really want to embrace traditions or you just seize the opportunity to let your hormones go wild? Because believe it or not, it really hurts to have your wet body whipped. And the majority of girls don’t like it.
source:http://195.46.72.16/free/jsp/search/view/ViewerFoto.jsp?Document=..%2F..%2FFondyF%2F10%2F04%2F20100405_TEP60090517.1%40Foto&QueryText=
It could be soo nice tradition if done right..
My personal experience
Frustration
I remember feeling deceived every year, when the Easter holidays ended and I started going to school again. The boys in our class used to brag about the money they have earned by whipping.
„I got more than 100€.“
„Haha, that’s nothing. I have 280.“
And I was just sitting there like „what?!“ along with other girls. You know, you can just roll your eyes and let boys do their job with whips and water. After all it just lasts few minutes. But so much money? As a 13 year old girl I was trying to persuade my brother to get a job as newspaper delivery man, so that I could illegally do the job ( I couldn’t get the job myself, because it’s only allowed if you’re 15+ y.o.). I wanted to buy some new LPs. If I were a boy... So yes, I felt terribly angry and frustrated.
I just think the tradition has gone off the right path.
source:https://vysetrenie.zoznam.sk/cl/1000663/1344635/Co-ma-spolocne-sibacka-a-oblievacka-so-zdravim--Odhalte-ich-symboliku
I still call it my fav holiday
But despite everything, I used to like Easter Monday(I don’t really celebrate it much now). You know, for a young girl it’s a whole lot of fun and adventure. I used to have a really sophisticated hiding strategy. I usually woke up at 4am, wore a raincoat and glued it to my limbs so the water had no access to my body once they find me. I also used to wear a bathing cap to protect my hair and then some pieces of the clothing my father and bro wanted to wear that day, so they’ll have to find something else. Then I took a book and a glass of water or tea, silently went to my pre-planned place to hide and read there until they woke up and started looking for me.
It was really easy when I was small, because I could fit just anywhere without being visible. I remember hanging in a wardrobe inside my uncle’s old suit or being hidden in space between two parts of my desk noone even knew was there (that was my best one, totally invisible. They only found me because I sneezed). And the worst one? In our living room there’s a space between a wall and our wardrobes. Usually it‘s full of empty cardboard boxes from our TV, furniture etc. (actually, where do you store those?) So I got rid of the ones that were in the corner and created a small place where I could stand, hidden behind the wardrobe and the rest of the boxes. The gap was so small noone would think I’m there. But I could barely breathe. And something like changing a position wasn’t an option without moving the wardrobe. So I stood there for 5 hours. Father was desperate and I enjoyed it soo much. They had no chance to find me. Until I became dizzy and almost blacked out. I tried to sit down and as the wardrobe moved slightly, they found me. And instead of whipping me , they gave me a kind of first aid:D
I guess it’s truth if I say it’s my most favourite and the most hated tradition at the same time.. :) (well, maybe I like Christmas more)
And one last thing. Thank you, @hairyfairy for letting me know about this wonderful contest. And thank you, @reonlouw for organising it! I'm having a great time reading the articles :)
Thanks for reading,
Zuzana