career student record: Easter

Happy Easter Everyone! One of the great things about Czech Republic is that Easter is a very big holiday for everyone, even people that don't go to Church. It's also the beginning of spring so there's lots of nice stuff going on. Like this market in the town square. They have booths with sausages and all kinds of crafts. I saw a whole pig being roasted on a spit. I almost felt like I was back home at a pig pull.

One thing I have not really talked about in the blog is beer. Now I've avoided it because I don't know how all people might react but I'm going to get into it. Beer is a big part of the culture in Czech Republic and especially in Pilsen. It is the birth place of Pilsner Urquell which is one of the oldest working breweries in the world. In fact the Brewery Museum is the oldest one in the world. The company employs many people and is very important to the economy as well as a source of cultural pride. I would say that I resisted drinking beer and only took it up to be sensitive to my hosts but that'd be a big fat fib. I liked beer before I came here. There, I said it. But I know moderation is most important. Having said that, it really would hurt a Czech's feelings if you refused to try their favorite local beer.

Anyway, Pilsner Urquell sponsors these festivals so there is a lot of advertising for them around. You can see the big blow up arch there? Pilsner Urquell. So you get the idea.

So as I was saying there a lots of interesting traditions around Easter here. I must be honest, I do not understand a lot of what I was told and I really can't remember everything. So if any of my Czech friends read this feel free to point out in the comments the important things I missed.

So here's the worst one probably. It's funny but I can see how it might be problematic. We'd never get away with this in USA. It's called Pomlazka. Basically a pomlazka is a whip made from willow twigs braided together. Boys in the village take the pomlazky and hit the girls with them in the legs and behind. In return the girls give them a decorated egg. I know, it's nutso. Needless to say many of my female friends are not fans of this tradition. Fortunately nobody really beats up on the girls so much anymore.

Another thing here they do that I love is this spot just off the square. Basically anyone can come up and read the Bible for everyone to hear. The nice lady off to the right goes to Maranatha actually. But from what I can tell anyone is welcome to come and read. There's a little sign up sheet in that walkway. For a country that is so secular they still have a lot of affection for tradition and the Christianity is a big part of that. At least I hope so. Now if they'd just start going to Church again. I hope I'm helping in my small way on that front.

If you really want to know all about the Easter traditions I found a link here at My Czech Republic.

The Monday after Easter is a national holiday. So a group of us from Maranatha went out to some lakes on the edge of town to picnic and have a nice day out. It has all of a sudden become the most beautiful weather here. It's in the 70s and sunny most everyday. So nice.

I apologize for my terrible photography. But over that lake behind those trees is where we went. We of course cooked sausages on the fire all that good stuff. We also played lots of games with the kids. This was so much fun. One of the funniest parts of the day was the big gift hunt. It's sort of like an Easter Egg Hunt but it's really just one big one. They all took off running through forest to be the first one to find it. But finding it was just the beginning of the battle.

That's right! It was up in the top of a skinny little pine tree. They weren't discouraged though. They went after it.

But eventually that had to face facts and enlist the help of Honza, the tallest guy out there.

That's right! I snapped the picture while the present was still falling. I'm very proud of that. So all the kids got their candy and all was right with the world. It really was a lovely day and it's amazing how you can travel such a small distance and be in such great natural beauty.