Why (or why not) do Easter in Prague? Here's why...

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=78296820571&h=Y77uo&u=Qow4p&ref=nf

As the article states:

"On Easter Monday people get up early. The boys and men set off on a whipping trip through the village.

Boys stop at people’s homes and whip the legs of every girl and woman who live in the house. Small boys are required to recite an Easter carol as they go about their whipping. As if the whipping is not enough, a popular custom is also to grab the girl and throw her in a bath of cold water, known as an "Easter dousing". The whipping and dousing is performed to chase away illness and bad spirits. They may not appreciate it at the time, but it is actually good for the girl!

Once all the whipping and dousing is over, the girl, strangely enough, rewards the boy with one of her painted eggs. She then ties a ribbon around his whip and he moves on to the next house. As the boys progress through the village, their bags fill with eggs and the whips become more and more colourful, with many bright ribbons. For older boys, the gifts of eggs and ribbons have latterly given way to the man being offered shots of alcohol. By the time the men arrive home, they can be fairly happy!"

Um....excuse me?! There will be absolutely NO Easter dousing for me, thanks. hee. That's why I'm heading to Poland this weekend.

Yep, you heard me right...I will be traveling to Tarnow (about an hour east of Krakow) tonight to spend the holiday with my future family-in-law. I am overjoyed to experience Easter and all of the Polish traditions around the holiday as well as the baptism of Tom's cousin's lil babe, Feliks. Phew! It'll be an experience and adventure, definitely!

The adventure commences tonight with an overnight train to Tarnow, where I will arrive tomorrow morning. Keep in mind that a majority of the family speaks very little English, so your prayers for good communication this weekend would be much-appreciated, as I will be meeting 40+ Polish family members.

Woo-hoo! Bring it on!

Happy Easter and may God bless you all!

me

p.s. pictures to come - I've been bad recently at keeping them updated! apologies!