Dec 4, 2024
Happy Saint Barbara’s Day!
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Happy Saint Barbara’s Day!
Opening the Wells
“When opening the wells, girls ensured the purity of the water source, but at the same time they summoned the necessary moisture through certain magical acts. The ceremonial cleaning of wells was the responsibility of girls only in the spring or in the summer, starting on the feast of St. John of Nepomuk (16 May) and ending on St. Medard (8 June). Wells were usually "poured out" after sunset or before sunrise. After finishing their work, the girls collected a reward for their service. During the tour of the village, they led the queen, a little girl dressed in white clothes, who was always wreathed and barefoot, from house to house. In older times, underage naked girls poured water to summon rain for sowing and to show respect for the water source. This ancient ceremony was still carried out in various places in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands during the 19th century. During the Pentecost period, on the other hand, young men cleaned the village wells as a service to the village. The cleaning of the wells was also followed by a tour of the houses and the collection of a reward.”
“In our region [Zjnomo in Southern Moravia] girls would undress and clean them at the water springs in the spring. They would place green wreaths on the edges of the wells as badges of their purity and innocence. When the wells were cleaned, the girls would dress up a young girl as a queen on the next Sunday, dress her barefoot in a white dress and decorate her with a wreath with streamers. They would go from house to house with the queen and collect a reward for pouring water. In Vedrovice in the Moravian Krumlov region, the queens would go around for two Sundays. One Sunday, four, the other two, each time in a procession of many girls. Four queens would walk around the well, two dressed in white and two in red. As they went around, the other girls would hold willow branches above them and sing:
Saint Michael, the Archangel, remember us,
we beseech Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary,
that He may deign to help us in all our needs and not forget us at His bitter death.
Kyrie eleison.”
“So they went around all the wells in the settlement. On the second Sunday, two queens walked, one red representing the king and one white representing the queen. They also, accompanied by other girls, traveled through the village from house to house for a reward.”
“From the German environment, we have evidence of cleaning communal wells. On the Saturday before Whitsun, for example, this was done by the count's young men. After work, they dressed in festive clothes, went around the individual buildings in the village and collected a reward. In the once independent Dyjské district of Znojmo, on the Saturday afternoon before Pentecost, the young men cleaned the Cendelín well. Then they built birch maypoles in front of their loved ones' houses.”
Sources:
Pod tímto svátkem se schovává více významů, které mají jedno společné – vyjít do světa s tím, co mám v sobě.
Zvyky a tradice obcí na Znojemsku
Pálení Čarodějnic “Burning of the Witches”
(Walpurgisnacht, Hexennacht, May Eve) and May Day in Zjnomo (South Moravia)
Josef Lada
In Bohemia, on the eve of May Day, young people light fires on hills and peaks, at crossroads and in pastures, and dance around them. They jump over the glowing embers or even jump over the flames. The ceremony is called 'burning witches'. In some places it is customary to burn a puppet representing a witch at the stake. We must remember that May Day is the famous Walpurgis Night, and the air is full of invisible witches on their hellish errands.
—James Frazer
May Eve stands at the very threshold of the summer half-year, which begins with the holiday of May 1st. The customs of this magical night, especially the building of maypoles and the decoration of houses with green branches, are directly related to the welcoming of spring and are repeated throughout the entire Pentecostal ceremonial cycle.
It is a night of magic and love. Since it is a turning point in the year, various unclean forces also have a say, penetrating the world of people for a time. Evil powers can understandably cause harm, so people focused on protecting themselves and their farms from witches on this day. Cattle, which were driven out to pasture for the first time during this period, were particularly at risk. The villagers therefore focused primarily on protecting livestock and barns, and less on protecting homes and fields.
Various magical rituals were practiced before and after sunset. During the day, a thorough spring cleaning took place throughout the farm, especially the cleaning of the yard and stables, in which the cattle were locked up before dark. The swept-up dirt was ceremonially destroyed, usually burned in the flames of high fires. Before dusk, people also decorated their homes and farm buildings with various protective devices, symbolic barriers that were supposed to delay or injure witches.
These were usually prickly green twigs, rowan, elderberry, and birch branches that were stuck into the roofs or around doors and windows. Great attention was paid especially to the thresholds of the stables. After sunset, a commotion echoed through the village, which was supposed to scare away the witches, and all night long, people burned the aforementioned high cleansing and protective fires, in whose flames everything old and unnecessary was destroyed. During the symbolic "witch burning", props of various nature were used, especially burning brooms, which were thrown high into the air. Whoever threw their broom the highest was recognized by all those present. When the bonfires burned down, the youth without hesitation set about building a maypole and preparing for the May festival the next day.
In the Podhoráčko region and in the central and southern parts of the Horáčko region, large maypoles were erected at the beginning of May. The groups built them on various dates, e.g. on the first of May, on the first Sunday of May, sometimes before the Ascension of the Lord or before the Whitsun holidays. On other dates, the maypoles were of course also cut down. However, they always stood in the village square near the pubs. Usually one, sometimes two, more were rarely seen. It was mainly a tall spruce, of which the young men left only the top. Sometimes the conifer was also set off with a green birch.
Maypoles were decorated with scarves, sometimes with ribbons, and boys sometimes tied a bottle of brandy to the top, for which some daredevils then tried to climb. As can be seen, the chase was fun already when erecting the maypoles, but even more so when guarding them. The cross-country skiers often tried to cut them down at night. Under the maypoles, which were lit before being erected, people danced, similar to a festival.
The high maypole was sometimes erected on May 1st in Moravsko Krumlov, where it stood in front of the pub for the entire month of May and was only cut down on the last Sunday with music. The boys from Moravsko Krumlov on stuck the maypoles into the chimneys of the houses of their chosen ones. They were beautiful young birches decorated with ribbons. Which girl found the tallest maypole in the morning, was proud of it and was duly proud of it all year round.
Before sunrise, young men erected maypoles in front of the houses of their chosen ones and throughout the Třebíč region. They had hearts engraved with the initials of the girl they loved, and so the girls removed and hid them. In the vicinity of Jaroměřice, young men would stick girls' "maykes" into the dormers of their cottages.
Religious citizens would use them to decorate the Passion, chapels, crosses and statues of saints. Decorated maykes were also built in Czech villages in the Vranov region.
Lovers' paths were also paved with feathers, i.e. frayed goose feathers with a feather tip on top, or they were poured with lime milk so that everyone would know which girl this or that boy was secretly following. Therefore, young men would work hard in the morning to cover such "paths of love" before they were seen by unauthorized eyes, especially those chosen by their parents. In the Náměšť region, such paths between houses were sprinkled with chopped straw and chaff, but they were also painted with lime, across gardens and yards to doors or windows. Rejected suitors or envious or jealous girls often took revenge in this way. We have documented "paths of love" from practically the entire Třebíč region.
However, the farmers did not escape either. By morning, they could find their wagons dismantled or the Maypole tucked on the roof of the house or in the chimney. Young men also liked to plant fences, take the "kadibudky" out of the garden and line them up in the village square, throw milking stools in the middle of the pond, etc.
In the Jemnicko region, shepherds drove their cattle out for the first time, which was not without protective practices. The cows were poured with decoctions of various spices, which, for example, had to be stolen in the Velkomezíč region to be effective.
In the Podhorácko region, during the ceremonial induction into office, before the first cattle drive, they poured water on the shepherd so that he would never fall asleep while grazing. The cows were then ceremoniously driven out to pasture.
In Trstěnice, the shepherd drove the cattle out to pasture on May 1 and made a line across the road with a whip. The first farmer to cross it had healthy and beautiful horses all year round.
In the Moravian Krumlov region, black elder branches were stuck into the windows of houses and stables before dark, which were said to protect people and livestock from the rampage of witches. In the Jemnice region, they sprinkled buildings with holy water.
It was also a witch's night in the Třebíč region. Local farmers tied doorknobs with bast so that witches could not harm them. If they touched the bast, they would lose their power. Fires burned on the hills, large pyres, where everything unnecessary and old was burned, especially old brooms. With burning brooms, they walked in processions around the fire on the hill and threw them into the air as the cattle roared. However, people also danced around the fires in the Vranov region, for example in Bítov.
Belief in the power of witches on St. Philip's Night, accompanied by numerous protective measures, was also widespread among local Germans. Branches of black elderberry were nailed to the gates and doors of buildings, which were also tucked behind window frames. The construction of maypoles was widespread in the German Znojmo region until the 1930s.
Young men would erect birch, sycamore and spruce maypoles on the eve of May 1 in front of the house of a village dignitary, mayor, teacher or priest, thereby actually expressing their respect. It was a trunk stripped of bark, on whose branches were tied colorful ribbons and flags. In return, the honored ones showed their appreciation with money or a keg of beer.
In front of the pub, the group also erected a large maypole, which resembled a dancing tree or "Tanzbaum" for the celebration of the festival. They danced under it during the May Day festivities on the first Sunday in May.
At night, young men would place maypoles decorated with paper flowers and ribbons on the roofs and in front of their girlfriends' houses. They were a symbol of affection and love. However, the maypoles that had been erected had to be looked after so that they would not be stolen by one of their rivals or that another boy would not take them away and place them in front of his chosen one's house. Girls who saw a maypole in front of their house on the first morning of May were understandably very happy.
However, a rejected suitor could also take revenge on that night and place a dry branch decorated with tin cans with tinsel in front of the girl's window. The girl, about whom It was known that she had lost her honor, but in the morning she found a figure made of old rags, known for example in Horní Břečkov as "Todamonn", hanging from a tree in front of her house.
In German villages, too, paths made of lime milk or feathers connected the lovers' homes. However, St. Philip's Night was also a night of noisy fun and pranks. The young men carried gates and carts onto the roof, pulled entire carts out of the yard and blocked chimneys. However, the villagers silently tolerated these mischiefs.
Source:
Zvyky a tradice obcí na Znojemsku
White/Holy Saturday Fire and Easter Sunday Salt Blessing
“On White/Holy Saturday 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.”
I stripped the leaves from my hazel “palms” from Palm Sunday and used them for my White Saturday fire. I poured pine oil over the twigs and it smelled amazing.
“A large number of customs on Easter Sunday 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?].”
“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.”
I don’t have any fields to bless, so on Easter I made a small cross for my altar from some of the charred remains and together with some salt consecrated them in a little ritual at the creek.
Source:
Zvyky a tradice obcí na Znojemsku
Svatá Agáta (Feb. 5, the feast day of Saint Agatha)
I brought bread (more home baked buchty) and salt, down to my sacred space at the creek behind our home and an antique bottle to gather water—and prayed to Saint Agatha, adapting once again an invocation that sang to me from the Carmina Gadelica (yes, here I went again, muddling up my slavic and Gaelic heritages):
Svatá Agáta,
The sacred Three,
To save,
To shield,
To surround.
The salt,
The water,
The bread.
Protect
The hearth,
The home,
Those who dwell within.
This morning,
This dawn,
Oh! This morning,
And every morning,
Each single morning.
This afternoon,
This midday,
Oh! This afternoon,
And every afternoon,
Each single afternoon.
This eve,
This night,
Oh! This eve,
And every night,
Each single night.
Amen.
When I returned to the house I sprinkled hátová water at each of the four corners of our home and proceeded to place bread at the closest space I could find to the ceiling behind the beam:
“A piece of bread was placed on the ceiling behind the beam to protect the house from lightning. The housekeeper sprinkled the holy water in places around the house and poured it into the well so frogs wouldn’t stay in it, and sprinkled the grain intended for sowing in the spring so it wouldn’t be eaten by worms.”
I also sprinkled her salt and water down our sink to protect our water supply and on a bit of symbolic grain while praying for easy food abundance in the coming year.
On Svatá Agáta (Feb. 5, the feast day of Saint Agatha) water, bread and salt were consecrated in the churches. Whosoever ate this bread was protected from snake bite throughout the year.
Kostel Nejsvětější Trojice (Holy Trinity Church) in Běhařovice, Czechia — the church in my great-grandparents’ village.
Hátová water and bread have the power to ward off the elements, not only storms, but also floods and fires.
To ward off a storm, a person had to go outside, sprinkle hátová water in the direction of the approaching storm, and make the sign of the cross.
In the event of a fire, a handful of hátová salt was thrown into the fire. Bread sprinkled with water was also thrown into the fire, especially if the fire was caused by lightning.
The salt was also thrown into the pit when digging a well or cleaning it to ensure the purity and good quality of the water.
When a flood threatened, hátová water poured into a river or stream, along with prayer, was supposed to ensure a decrease in the water level.
Her bread was taken on journeys as protection against misfortune. It was also placed in mouse holes to drive away mice and ensure beautiful potatoes.
Sources:
Od Hromnic až do Tří Králů From Groundhog Day to the Three Kings: Customs and Traditions of Villages in Znojmo (Southern Moravian district in Czechia that my great-grandparents were from) by Jiří Mačuda
Obyčeje a slavnosti v české lidové kultuře Customs and festivals in Czech folk culture by Eva Večerková
Greetings from Běhařovice
Palm Sunday (this year April 13)
Illustration: Happy times in Czechoslovakia by Libushka Bartusek, 1940
On Palm Sunday, in some villages girls would bring a decorated tree into the village. This was basically a continuation of the custom of drowning Morana (which had taken place on the fifth Sunday of Lent). Winter was killed, and Spring reborn.
In some villages old men and women went caroling from door to door.
The church stands on the rock—Christ Jesus!
The Lord Christ was hurled—Alleluia! Hello Marija!
They swatted at him—Christ Jesus!
Until the crypt dropped from him—Hallelujah! Hello Marija!
Marija was collecting it—Christ Jesus!
She planted it in the garden—Hallelujah! Hello Marija!
A white flower grew out of it—Christ Jesus!
He is more precious than the world—Hallelujah! Hello Mary!
—Caroling from Újezd near Běhařovice (my ancestral village)
Willow branches were brought into the churches. They had been forced in cups of water behind the stoves. Sacred pussy willows were a cure for colds and eye and throat pains. In some places they were swallowed immediately upon leaving church, but in others until Maundy Thursday/Green Thursday (this year April 17).
In some areas the catkins were placed crosswise on the stove during thunderstorms so lightning would not strike the building. They were inserted in the grain to protect it from all calamities, and were used to beat the field so that it would produce a bountiful harvest. Branches were hidden behind pictures of the saints and placed near crosses and in stables. People would stick them behind swallows nests in barns so the cattle wouldn’t get sick. They were stuck behind roof rafters and in the fields to protect the house and future crops from bad weather.
From:
Od Hromnic až do Tří Králů From Groundhog Day to the Three Kings: Customs and Traditions of Villages in Znojmo (Southern Moravian district in Czechia that my great-grandparents were from) by Jiří Mačuda
Larks, Larks, Give us Summer
“Even before the leaves bud out, as the snow begins to thaw, one must invite–indeed coax–the spring to arrive. If one simply waited, Spring (being willful) might not choose to come, and then, with last year’s food bins already almost empty, one could not survive.
To bring the spring proactively, Russian mothers baked bird-shaped pastries in early March and their children clambered about setting these little larks and snipes out like duck decoys on the rooftops, fence posts, and snowless patches of ground, hanging them from trees and bushes or even tossing them into the air, meanwhile singing such songs as:
Larks, Larks, Give us Summer,
We’ll give you Winter–
There’s no food left for us”
–“The Dancing Goddesses” by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Nowadays, these pastry birds are associated with Easter in various parts of Central and Eastern Europe. I was delighted to find a picture of them in a book on the traditions of the Znojmo region of Moravia (where my great-grandparents are from) a couple years ago when I realize that the birds that I’ve been making were likely made by my babičky (grandmothers) as well.
Bird pastries baked in the Zjnomo region of Moravia
This year, however, I’ve been wanting to use what’s happening around me in nature, rather than boxes on a calendar, for my rituals to coax spring—and I’ve decided to release the birds on the old date (February 24) of St. Matthew’s feast day.
In folk tradition, Saint Matthew was associated with the arrival of early spring. In the Chod region and South Moravia, it was said that sparrows had a wedding on this day.
“On St. Matthew's Day, the human heart will warm, the sun will devour the snowdrifts, and the lark will sing over the field.”
Also, while February 23rd is my legal birthday, I was born at midnight and consider the 24th to be my spiritual birthday. What better time to begin my devotional new year rituals?
I AM NOT a great baker. I’m currently blaming this on my recent diagnosis of ADHD. I love the creative process of cooking, but baking requires a patience I haven’t always been capable of.
However, I stumbled on a fantastic Czech American recipe on St. Blaise’s Day, when I made buchty from My Czech Heritage Cookbook by LaVina Vanorny-Barcus. This was the most perfect, fluffy bread that I’ve ever managed to make without using a bread machine! The author’s grandmother used this recipe to make buchty, cinnamon rolls and kolache. So I thought, why not the bird pastries?
👏
Perfection!!
After letting the dough rise for half an hour, I divided it into 12 balls. I then rolled each of the balls into a 9-10 inch strand.
I then knotted the strand.
I used a fork to press the back of the knot into a tail.
I then used a slivered almond to form the beak and 2 cloves to form the eyes (when I release the birds into the wild I remove the cloves —after I take pictures 😜— to protect any wildlife that may eat them).
I then placed them on a tray near a space heater to rise for thirty minutes, and baked them for about 10 minutes at 375°F.
I plan on freezing these guys and thawing them out on the 23rd, before I release them on the 24th.
Blažeje Blessing
According to a little booklet I have on the folk traditions of Zjnomo, the day after Hromnice/Candlemas on St. Blaise’s Day, parishioners would go to the church to be blessed with the hromnička (thunder candle) under their throats. This protected them from sore throats and rotten teeth.
Zjnomo is the district in Southern Moravia in which my great-grandparent’ village is located.