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The original pilgrimage church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Tuřany was founded in connection with the legend of the discovery of a statue of the Mother of God in Trní, probably in the first half of the 13th century, and thus became one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in Moravia, and is also associated with the arrival of St. Cyril and Methodius in Moravia.

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Happy Lady Day!

Annunciation from Jeníkov; Bohemian panel painting, around 1460, Gallery of the castle Duchcov

Traditionally, on the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, Czechs go to church for a festive service, during which salt is blessed. This salt has long been used very sparingly, because it is believed that it can cure any disease. This salt is also used to salt a wedding loaf. It is believed that then the young people will always be together and happy.

Although fasting continues during this period, on the Annunciation, the Church allows eating fish with olive oil and drinking alcohol.

There are also several prohibitions. In particular, on this day you must not:

cut or dye your hair;

to do hard work;

to borrow or lend money;

to go on a long journey;

to sew, to knit, to embroider;

wear new clothes.

Also, according to folk omens, a warm night promises that spring will be just as pleasant and gentle.

Source

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Foraging and freezing spring greens for Green/Maundy Thursday. I live in a multigenerational home and have no control over when the acreage I work with is going to get its first spring mowing, so I thought I’d better be prepared!

The dandelion flowers were placed between a damp paper towel and in the fridge. Hopefully I can find another 1/4 cup in a day or two so I can make half a batch of dandelion salve. It lasts me a long time so I don’t need more than that.

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My foraging companion stayed with me for my entire 45 minute hunt for dandelion greens.

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Easter Sunday in Zjnomo (Southern Moravia)

Easter Sunday is the greatest Christian holiday of the year, a day of joy over the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which opens the eight-week festive period culminating in the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

The day was marked by a period of rest from work, and since the Middle Ages the church has also blessed food. This custom has been documented in the Czech lands since the 14th century. Eating these foods together in a narrow circle was supposed to ensure family cohesion and protect people from going astray.

A large number of customs on Easter focused on the protection and future fertility of the fields. Easter was close to the first spring plowing and sowing, and so the folk customs of these days also preserved numerous remnants of the ancient cult of the earth. An interesting custom is documented, for example, from Jemnický, where they stuck consecrated rods in the fields for the Easter holiday, in front of which they built crosses made of burnt logs (from the White Saturday fires?).

They buried eggs under crosses and then went to drink from the forest well. All eggs laid on Easter belonged to the farmers in the Jemnicko region. In Budkovice, people went to wash themselves in the river to stay healthy all year round. Egg shells were put in the garden, cellar and well to keep frogs away.

Annual customs and feasts shared ceremonial pastries. During the Easter period, small pastries in the shape of birds were prepared, based on a strand of dough rolled into a knot, with grooves representing the tail and raisins representing the eyes.

Many Easter pastries from the Znojmo region have survived to this day. They were made in many shapes in the 19th and even at the beginning of the 20th century; in Vysočany, for example, they were baked from saltier dough sprinkled with poppy seeds or caraway seeds in the shape of circular braids, which, according to eyewitnesses, resembled ram's horns.

Elsewhere, however, Judas pastries were more often found drizzled with honey, which was supposed to have special magical powers and protect people, for example, from snake bites (though these were typically a part of the Ugly Wednesday and Green/Maundy Thursday traditions) In Jezeřany-Maršovice, located right on the border with Brno, they also knew "kraple". However, in addition to Easter, this festive pastry is still prepared for Christmas and is apparently also known in nearby Trboušany and Vedrovice. The term "kraple" probably comes from German and means the same as bun. We therefore assume that they were originally baked in nearby German villages.

On the morning of Easter Sunday, dishes were blessed. The most common of these included salt for everyday consumption, which was generally given the greatest importance, and then eggs and buns, dishes traditionally associated with the Easter season. After being brought from church, family members ate them together. We have no information about special treats, and the other ceremonial dishes of the holiday lunch also mostly disappeared, so on Easter Sunday the same food was eaten as during the usual rich holiday lunch. A dish made of chopped smoked meat, noodles and three to four eggs baked in the oven has survived only in Běhařovice (My Grandparent’s village!!!!) and Medlice, but eyewitnesses could no longer remember its original name. However, it is apparently a reduced version of svítku or čáplice, where the original semolina was replaced by noodles and the entire dish was adapted to "flíčků se šmkou", a popular dish that, however, came to the village from the city.

[👀 well you know I’m going to have to figure out a variation of this!!!]

The food that the local Germans usually brought to the church for blessing always included the so-called "Antlassoa eggs", eggs laid on Maundy Thursday, which had been attributed magical powers since ancient times. These eggs were eaten before lunch in the family circle. Their shells were buried in the soil to make it more fertile. "Maundy Thursday eggs" were also given to cows together with bread. However, various types of Easter pastries were also blessed. In the Lower Austrian border region, these were most often spreads called "Osterfleck", bread made from wheat flour, and also Easter pretzels "Osterbrezen" made from sweet yeast dough, to which nuts were usually added in addition to raisins. These pretzels were usually quite large, but in the Mistelbach district they were more often baked only twenty centimeters long.

On the festive table, home-smoked ham, a traditional Lower Austrian Easter dish, was especially popular. On Easter, every housewife made sure that her ham was as juicy as possible. In some villages, such as Hrušovany, groups of young men cracked whips on the night from Easter Sunday to Easter Monday. This was actually a custom of spring noise, which in ancient times was used to drive away evil spirits.

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#dusegment for the playoffs? 🙏 💚

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A Joint Czech/Austrian Project Collecting Recipes of Austria, Zjnomo, and South Bohemia Part 2

Part 1

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A Joint Czech/Austrian Project Collecting Recipes of Austria, Zjnomo, and South Bohemia

I stumbled across this amazing collection this morning while looking for a particular Easter recipe from my ancestral village in Zjnomo (in South Moravia in modern day Czechia).

It is a joint project between museums in Austria and Czechia to collect recipes from 1750 to 1918 (my great-grandparents left in 1912–a part of the Slavic diaspora that was getting out before WWI) that were going back and forth across the borders as Czech and Moravian domestic workers went back and forth—introducing Czech folk recipes into Austria and Austrian recipes back home to southern Bohemia and Zjnomo.

I ran the pdf through google translate and here are the recipes from the section on Spring/Lent/Easter. The recipes were printed in both Czech and German, so the information is constantly doubled when translated into English.

Original Source

Part 2

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White/Holy Saturday in Zjnomo (district in Southern Moravia)

White Saturday procession in Olomouc in Eastern Moravia

Holy Saturday was marked by the celebration of the Resurrection. The central point of this holiday was primarily a ceremonial procession around the village, which none of the local residents were allowed to miss. It was an important social event, for which girls and women wore the best they could find in their chests.

During the Easter vigil of the Resurrection, church bells rang out over the village for the first time since Maundy Thursday. Holy Saturday was also the last day of Holy Week, when the customs and order of the previous days faded away in folk tradition.

Photo from Muzeum Zjnomo

In churches, the so-called new fire was lit, originating from the pre-Christian tradition of the so-called spring fires, which were later accepted into the official church system. The new fire was lit by kindling in the open air, and together with it, the wood was also lit, which was burned in its flames. From the logs and charred embers, the farmers then carved crosses, which they put in the fields or behind the roof of their homes.

Photo source

The paškál candle used in the evening service was lit from the fire.

Easter fires burned near the church walls also at Horáček. Water was also blessed, which was then sprinkled on rye. In the Znojmo region, fruit trees were shaken on Holy Saturday to make them bear fruit. The long pre-Easter fast ended. However, Holy Saturday differed significantly from other fasting days. Although mothers often admonished their children to eat one slice less, the fast was only observed until lunch and through lunch.

However, it was not so easy to keep it, since buns and cakes were already being baked for the approaching Easter. Approximately a third of them were eaten the evening before the Easter feast.

Similar customs we also have evidence of from Podyjí. For example, when the bells rang for the first time in German villages "after the arrival from Rome", the housewives ran to the garden and shook the trees to produce enough good fruit. The highlight of the day here too was the procession on the church festival of the Resurrection, which all the villagers participated in in the early evening.

White Saturday may be named for the white robes of those baptized on this night.

Source:

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Great/Good Friday in the Zjnomo Region (Southern Moravia)

The unique Holy Sepulchre from Nový Hrozenkov restored in the Wallachian Open Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (the Wallachian region of Moravia is to the East of Zjnomo).

On Good Friday, Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. In the countryside, it was traditionally the quietest and saddest day of the year, closely associated with prayer, penance, and the strictest fasting. There was little talk at home either, and when the boys rattled through the village at three in the afternoon, all work stopped and everyone humbly prayed. Throughout the Great Friday, certain work bans also applied, in particular, it was not allowed to plow or otherwise move the land, which was waking up from a long sleep after the end of winter.

It was also a day saturated with mysteries and sacred awe. Magic was most powerful especially in the morning before sunrise, during the reading of the Passion and at the hour of Jesus' death. It was a day of good and evil supernatural powers. Water also had magical and healing powers. Even before sunrise, or at dawn, people washed in rivers and streams, which were supposed to bring them health and protect them from fever, rash and other diseases. Rural people also brought stream water home, and if Easter fell at the end of March, they also washed themselves in the snow.

The earth opened up and for a time revealed everything hidden from its bowels. The youth ran to search for treasures in ruins and on the sites of extinct villages, which were said to be possible to dig up when the Passion plays, i.e. the New Testament stories telling of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, were being read in church. In the afternoon, parents took their children to the Holy Sepulchre, where a guard was stationed.

The Holy Sepulchre had been built on Maundy Thursday afternoon to be ready for Good Friday morning. Girls and women decorated it with flowers while singing religious songs. Part of the Holy Sepulchre imitated the cave in which the statue of the dead Christ lay.

In our country, a similar imitation of the Holy Sepulchre was first documented in the 16th century and, especially after the re-Catholicization of the Czech lands, it became an important part of folk piety.

On Good Friday, cream sauce with egg was eaten in the villages of the Moravian Krumlov region, but in some Czech and German households, a strict fast was observed and cooking was only done after sunset; food was not greased. Smokers did not smoke and snuff was also forbidden.

Source:

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Deadly Sunday in the Zjnomo Region (Southern Moravia)

Image source

This year the fifth Sunday of Lent falls on April 6th.

The fifth Sunday of Lent is generally known in Czech folklore as Smrtná (Deadly). When winter ended, Morana (originally a Slavic pagan goddess associated in modern times almost exclusively with winter and death) was brought out and summer was brought into the village. Walking with Smrtka (Death) was an exclusively girlish custom and had the character of a social procession, during which the participants were rewarded.

The oldest reports of the bringing out of death in the Czech lands date back to the 14th century. Regionally, such a figurine is called "Smrtolka" in our country and "Mořena" in Morašice, in villages where the display was resumed after a pause of several years, it is known only as "Smrtka" (Death).

A modern Morana procession in Běhařovice, my great-grandparent’s village in Zjnomo.

Originally, it was a figure made of a smaller straw hat folded in half, the fold of which was tied up, thus creating a head. The second type was a figure with a body made of straw and a head made of rags. The heads of the doll were always wrapped in cloth, on which the girls painted or embroidered eyes, nose and mouth. The body was attached to a cross made of two rods, or sometimes only on a single rod. Smrtka would wear a child's crocheted cap on her head, and she would be dressed in two or three white skirts, a children's shirt and a coat. In Petrovice, Horní Dubňany and Řešíce, she would be dressed in a traditional costume, i.e. in white sleeves and a skirt.

If an old kerchief, apron and scarf were available, they dressed Smrtka in them too. The girls made the figures with the help of their mothers. During the procession, the girls carried the figure from house to house, walking silently and as quickly as possible between the buildings. It was always carried by two girls at the head of the procession, but the individual girls took turns so that Smrtka was always carried by the one who had relatives in a particular house. Only in Dolní Dubňany and Jamolice did one girl carry the “Smrtolka” wrapped in a blanket decorated with colorful ribbons and strings of glass beads, which were put around her neck, and the others followed her. (According to some sources, in the Moravian Krumlov region, all the girls in the village participated in the procession of Smrtka, with the oldest usually carrying the "Smrtolenka" and the younger ones walking behind them in pairs arranged according to age.)

A modern Morana procession in Běhařovice, my great-grandparent’s village in Zjnomo.

The girls sang and swayed their decorated figures to the rhythm. However, according to the witnesses, their singing was more like recitation.

The oldest girls were in charge of organizing the entire procession, who were called, for example, "párováčky" (companions), "porucnice" (lieutenants), and in some villages, "páni" (gentlemen) or "kaprhálové" (gentlemen), which probably reflects the later influence of organized boyish processions of the rattlers. Not only did the "pairs" have the most to worry about with organizing the parade, their duties also included caring for the small children participating in the parade and distributing gifts.

The procession usually began after dawn and ended at noon. The girls left the house where the "Smrtolka" was dressing up, or from a certain place in the village where they met by arrangement. The girls were always dressed festively, in Olbramkostel they wore white dresses, in Bohutice white starched skirts and black kacabajky similar to "ženke" or bridesmaids.

In Dolní Dubňany, the girls had "Smrtolka" buried in a duvet for everyone in their house, so that they could welcome spring, while singing:

"Little mortal, where have you been for so long?

At the well, at the cistern, you washed your hands and feet.

With what did you wipe yourself?

With a handkerchief, a flower, a pretty little piece of paper."

(Song for carrying out the death of Dolní Dubňany)

In Běhařovice, my great-grandparent’s village in Zjnomo.

When the girls finished singing, they were given presents by the housewife. Eggs and money were always among the gifts, but flour was also very often present. In Rybníky, for example, children would ask for “a little flour for a crispy snack”, i.e. for God’s grace. Other gifts included pastries, dried and fresh fruit, nuts, lard, semolina, salt or jam. The tradition has been preserved in its intact form for the longest time in the north of the district, where the girlswent in larger groups and eventually organized a feast. The main dish was unleavened pancakes "kesanke" with jam and fried eggs. The girls divided the monetary gifts equally among themselves. However, in later times, the feast changed and only a cake with coffee or tea was served, or sweets were bought in the shop.

Photo from Muzeum Zjnomo

After the parade was over, the "Smrtolka" was undressed and then thrown into the water. When the figures of the Smrtka began to become more complex, they were kept until the next year. In the 20th century, people no longer remembered the original meaning of the parade. Only in Višňová, after the parade, Smrtka was sprinkled with water, in which we can see the remains of a purification ritual or magical rain-making. We also have no information from our region about the ceremony of bringing the líto, which usually followed the carrying of the Death. Only in Olbramkostel was a green spruce carried at the head of the procession, while Smrtka was carried by girls at the back. It seems that over the centuries, both of these ceremonies were connected in the Znojmo region, and eventually only the carrying of the líto was commemorated by a reduced form of the custom, which was preserved until the 20th century in only one local village.

A modern Morana procession in Běhařovice, my great-grandparent’s village in Zjnomo

However, in Dobrínsko and Rybníky they still had a "Smrtolák" made of straw, which was undecorated, was not carried around and was drowned in the Rokytná river a week before Shrove Sunday. It is clear that the original important ceremony associated with the spring equinox changed over time to a mere procession. The age of the participants in the custom also decreased. As late as around 1890, eighteen-year-old girls would still go around the villages and ten-year-olds would run after them; since World War II, even preschool-age girls have been involved in the processions.

In some villages, only children from poor families participated in the processions, which degraded the bringing of death to mere "begging". Nevertheless, in some villages in the Znojmo district, Smrtka is brought out continuously to this day, in others these processions have gradually been brought back to life. Although it is currently only for the entertainment of our youngest children, the ancient custom continues to exist, and together with the pre-Easter clatter and pomlážka, it completes the unique color of the spring countryside.

Source:

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Redbud Syrup

I finished up the redbud syrup this afternoon and whipped up some pink redbud lemonade!

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Today’s blogging and stitching soundtrack

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The May Eve/Walpurgisnacht/Hexennacht/Pálení čarodějnic embroideries and the wildflowers that inspired them.

Ratany, verbena, spiderwort, hairy vetch, doves-foot cranes-bill, Carolina geranium, violet wood sorrel (2 pictures, leafs followed by bloom), Venus’ looking glass, cut-leaf tooth cup, and wild petunia.

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Current Stitching

For someone whose primary act of devotion is usually stitching I haven’t been doing a lot of stitching or blogging about stitching lately. My mind has been frazzled and a billion things are going through it at all times.

I picked this piece back up a couple of days ago and while feeling a little blue today it seems to be all I can concentrate on.

I plan on this being a May dress for Morana. This year’s dolly is longer than usual, so I plan on this being an underdress and the usual dress will be like an apron over the top.

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Breakfast Forage

This morning I went and gathered some spring greens for my omelette. I ended up deciding the chickweed was too woody. Once it starts flowering it can be past its prime. But, I went ahead and washed and chopped the purple deadnettle and henbit.

Henbit has a rather herbal nutty flavor and deadnettle is sort of mushroomy. Paired with shallots, garlic, mushrooms, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese it made for a very satisfying breakfast.

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Gray or Yellow Tuesday

Josef Lada

What does the Tuesday before Easter owe its unusual name to? The activities that were done on this day – namely cleaning. On this day, housewives should take up brooms and sweep dust and cobwebs from all corners and nooks in the house or apartment.

Another name is Yellow Tuesday, because after the dust and cobwebs are removed, the sun can enter our homes again. However, there are also opinions that the color used in connection with this day refers to the weather. If it is clear and sunny, Tuesday is yellow, if it is cloudy or raining, it is gray.

The gray color symbolized dust, which housewives used brooms to get rid of and then carried away from the house and, according to superstition, dumped at a crossroads.

In addition to sweeping and dusting, windows and floors were washed on this day, old and unnecessary things were thrown away. In some households, walls were even painted - whitewashed.

Last but not least, our ancestors also believed in various supernatural powers and house spirits (Skřítek), who were given milk on this day after cleaning.