User:Dawid2009/Easter whip
In the Czech Republic 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 a pomlázka (in Czech) or korbáč (in Slovak), in eastern regions of former Czechoslovakia Moravia and Slovakia they also throw cold water on them. The pomlázka/korbáč consists of eight, twelve or even twenty-four withies (willow rods), is usually from half a meter to two meters long and decorated with coloured ribbons at the end. The spanking may be painful, but it's not intended to cause suffering. A legend says that women should be spanked with a whip in order to keep their health, beauty and fertility during the whole next year. [1]
In some traditions the wicker is icentical with Easter palms or Pussy willow[2]
Etymology[edit]
"wicker whip": Slovak korbáč (the standard name for "whip" is bič and korbáč, itself originating from Turkish kırbaç, usually means only 1 particular type of it—the "wicker whip") – Hungarian korbács. [3]
References[edit]
- ^ "Easter whips up some Czech traditions". PraguePost.
- ^ Silverman, Deborah Anders (2000). Polish-American Folklore. University of Illinois Press. pp. 34–38. ISBN 9780252025693. pp 69-70
- ^ Magyar Nyelvőr – Pacsai Imre: Magyar–szlovák kulturális és nyelvi kapcsolat jegyei
[[Category:Easter traditions]] [[Category:Whips]]