Czech Easter - The Sundays of
Lent
Contributed by Petr Chudoba
In the Czech lands, this Sunday
used to be called "Roast Sunday" after a simple
fast meal was prepared by roasting unripe grain ears or
individual grains. This was one of the oldest ways of preparing
grain for use, and was also a suitable way of preserving
it. After roasting, it was further treated, and possibly
ground and used for cooking a soup.
This was called "Sneezing
Sunday" because on that day the Czechs held Masses
to avert the plague. One of the first symptoms of the plague
was excessive sneezing. The saying "God bless you!",
which we still wish a sneezing person, has its origin in
the fear of the plague.
Later on, the superstition that
sneezing "clears the head" led to the popularity
of snuff, so much so that sneezing and taking snuff were
common on that day. People believed that the number of times
one sneezed on that day would equal the number of years
that they would have yet to live.
This Sunday was almost in the
middle of Lent, so it became the occasion to celebrate the
time of fasting that had already passed. Mild entertainment
was allowed and some restrictions were lifted. For example,
dances were organized, but only in public places under the
supervision of the whole village.
This Sunday was sometimes called
"Matchmaker Sunday" because this was a time for
the matchmaker to visit, together with the groom, the parents
of the prospective bride in order to discuss courting and
other matters. Special "matchmaker cakes" used
to be baked for the matchmaker and the groom.
Passiontide is composed of the
last two weeks of Lent, from Passion Sunday (Smrtná
neděle)
until White Saturday (Bílá sobota). As a liturgical season,
it is older than Lent, having been established by the Church
as a period of fasting as early as the third century. During
the first four weeks of Lent, the spirit of personal penance
prevailed, but these last fourteen days were devoted entirely
to the meditation of the Passion of Jesus.
Passion Sunday is the second
Sunday before Easter and the fifth Sunday in Lent, appointed
for meditation on the Passion of Jesus. Among the Slavic
nations Passion Sunday is also called "Silent Sunday"
and "Quiet Sunday". In the Czech Republic, Passion
Sunday is called the "Black Sunday" or "Death
Sunday" (Smrtná neděle).
On the eve of Passion Sunday
the crucifixes, statues and pictures in the churches are
draped in purple cloth as a sign of mourning. This custom
originated in Rome in the thirteenth century, where in ancient
times the images of the papal chapel in the Vatican used
to be shrouded when the deacon sang the concluding words
of the Sunday Gospel, "Jesus hid Himself and went out
of the temple" (John 8:59 NKJV).
The liturgical services of Passiontide
are based on what happened to Jesus during the last days
before His death, leading up to the mysteries of the Passion.
The Mass texts are dominated by the thought of the Just
One, persecuted by His enemies, as He approaches the supreme
sacrifice on Golgotha.
In the Divine Office of Passiontide
the famous hymns of the Holy Cross ("Vexilla regis"
and "Pange lingua, gloriosi lauream") are sung
or recited. Psalm 42 ("Introibo") is omitted at
the Mass, as is the "Gloria Patri" in the Divine
Office. These changes, however, are probably due to reasons
other than the liturgical memory of the Lord's Passion.
Winter, the season of the year
when vegetation is dormant, is a time of cold, often stormy,
weather, and short days. Darkness comes early and the resulting
atmosphere is one of gloom. Before the development of modern
lighting - when candles, pitch pine and the fire on the
hearth provided the only illumination - the atmosphere created
by darkness was even more unpleasant. The peasants of Europe
believed that the demons of winter were everywhere, lurking
in the shadows of house and barn, in the fields and woods,
and especially in dark places. Signs and symbols of these
demons were to be found in the cold atmosphere, the leafless
trees, the barren ground, and the brown grass. Only the
death of winter could dispel all this darkness.
In the Czech Republic, the symbolic
death of winter occurs on Black Sunday (Smrtná neděle),
fourteen days before Easter Sunday. In the Bohemian Forest,
among the Chods, it's customary to prepare a dummy (named
Morena), who represents the old winter or Death. Like winter,
the dummy's face must be ugly! The figure is fashioned of
straw or sticks, dressed in old white clothes (to symbolize
the snow), and decorated with old rags and a necklace of
eggs.
The whole ceremony, called vynáąení
Moreny or vynáąení Smrtky, is organized by children and
young people dressed in traditional folk costumes.
It is accompanied by songs celebrating the oncoming spring
and awakening nature.
The villagers carry Morena about
the fields while the younger marchers in costume sing sad
funeral music. They parade to the river, swinging Morena
from side to side, and singing:
We are carrying out the winter
And bringing in the springtime.
After the girls remove her clothes,
Morena is beaten to pieces, her straw burned, scattered
to the winds, or "drowned" in running water. As
she is thrown into the river and floats away, the people
shout:
Death is floating down the river,
And spring will soon be here.
This
ceremony is supposed to show that everything dead or dying
must be done away with
to make way for spring. After the dead winter is thrown
into the stream, život (Life) or jarní čas (springtime)
is carried about in the hands of the marchers. These are
represented by small fir trees, decorated with gaily colored
eggshells, red apples, and chains of flowers or bright
ribbons, like miniature Christmas trees. They form groups
and go
caroling from house to house, announcing the coming of
spring in song and collecting ingredients for holiday
cakes and
other gifts.
This festivity can be seen in
Valašsko, Horňácko, Českomoravská
vrchovina or in the
Chodsko or Blata regions.
In the Podluľí region, the same
ceremony is done with a twig decorated with painted eggs.
Special types of cakes are baked and symbolic ornaments
are painted on thousands of egg shells to be sold by old
village women at market places all over Bohemia and Moravia.
In the Bydľov region, they used
to put flax behind the windows in the belief that no one
would die in the house during the entire year if they did.
"This day illuminates the
beginnings of the sufferings of the Lord. Come, therefore,
O friends, let us meet together with hymns; for the Creator
comes, humbling Himself to the Cross, to trial and to blows
and to the judgment of Pilate. Moreover, smitten on the
head by a servant, He submits to all things that He may
save mankind. Wherefore let us cry: O merciful Christ our
God, grant forgiveness of sins, to those who worship in
faith Thy Holy Passion." (Palm Sunday Evening)
In the Czech Republic, Palm
Sunday is called Květná neděle (Flower Sunday).
Květná neděle itself is traditionally a day of rejoicing,
for it is the anniversary of Jesus' triumphant entry into
Jerusalem. He rode on a colt for which He Himself had sent
(Mark 11:1-7). His entrance into Jerusalem is a fulfillment
of the messianic prophecies about the king who would enter
his holy city to establish a final kingdom. "Lo,
your king is coming to you. He is victorious, triumphant,
yet
humble, riding on an ass." (Zechariah 9:9 JPS)
A large crowd met Him in a manner
befitting royalty. Breaking branches of the date palm and
the olive, they waved them about as a sign of welcome. The
people also covered the main road leading to Jerusalem with
palm branches. They spread their cloaks on the road as a
show of respect, crying out: "Hosanna to the Son of
David! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9 NKJV) Jesus
went immediately to the Temple where He prayed and taught.
That evening, He departed for Bethany.
Květná neděle marks the start of Passion week. In most European countries,
the palm which is used on Palm Sunday is a pussywillow branch.
In the Czech Republic, the priests bless pussy willows,
wood and water. Following the Sunday Mass, the farmers wave
the blessed willows over their fields of grain, hoping for
a rich crop and to ward off hail and violent windstorms.
This is similar to the practice
in various Slavic countries and in Austria, where farmers
and their families carry the blessed palms or willows in
a procession through the fields. As they visit each field,
they chant hymns and leave a bit of the palm; the barns
and other farm buildings are visited in the same way. This
is done to bring the blessing of God upon the animals and
crops.
In the Czech Republic, the potency
of the holy willow is held to be so great that people frequently
eat the pussy willows in the belief that they thereby safeguard
their health for the year!
On this day, baking was forbidden
because the blossoms on the trees would get burned!
The services lasted until dawn,
for at that time the Paschal Vigil lasted all night. The
faithful kept lights burning all night so their rays would
link with the morning sun. The services were not elaborate.
It was also called the Day of
Light. All activities on that, and the previous day, should
have been aimed at cleansing the soul, body and dwellings,
so that everything was to be spick and span.
In Czech, the word Velikonoce refers to the Veliké noci, or great nights, during which
Jesus was resurrected from the dead. The night from Bílá
sobota (White Saturday) to Easter Sunday was from ancient
times regarded as the greatest night on the Church calendar.
On this day the bells come back from Rome and are rung to
signal the end of the fast.
People in their Sunday best were
ready for the festive Mass of the Resurrection. The housekeeper
extinguished all the fires in the household and took a piece
of firewood to the church. There she lit it from blessed
fire, brought it home, and lighted the fires again.
Daytime church services are not
held at all, and services are held instead either after
the sun goes down or after midnight. A procession parades
around the whole square, and then the entire church. Once
inside, the priests bless the water, candles and lights.
Only blessed candles and lights are used in the church during
these night-time services. Pieces of wood are scorched and
taken by people to put in the rafters of their houses for
protection against lightning and fire.
Bílá sobota is regarded, along
with Zelený čtvrtek, as a lucky day for sowing.
The farmers place ashes on their fields to ensure a good
crop,
and shake the trees, so that they'll yield a lot of fruit.
They say that if it rains on Bílá sobota, it will rain
often
during the coming year.
If you're in the Czech Republic
on Bílá sobota, take time to stand a while in
front of the church in Domaľlice, Kyjov, Blatnice, Břeclav
or Vlčnov
and enjoy the ceremonial costumes of the women and girls.
Because of the Virgin Mary's
faith in His promise to rise again from the dead, the day
is consecrated to her.
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