dagmaraka wrote:So I was telling these guys about the Slovak Easter.
On Easter Monday, hordes of young men gang up and go house to house to visit young maidens. They don't go empty-handed, no. They wield willow plaited whips and buckets of water and perfume. When they descend upon a house, they drag the girls out, pour buckets of water over them, stink them up with cheap perfume and whip them blue. Heaps of fun........for men. In return, they get all sorts of food, liquor, even money, each girl ties a ribbon on their plait (the whip) and gives each man a decorated easter egg (with wax, dyes, copper wire, wool...etc., ).
Here's a little demonstration, though these guys are light on whips:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtERsM5h1Tk
Just found the thread.
Thanks for the posts, pics, etc.!
While I can understand the pre-industrial roots of this (I can imagine what things would be like after a winter of no indoor plumbing and no water heater), I, like Slappy, am amazed that the ladies continue to allow it. The guys in the video got a bit... enthusiastic... with the buckets of water.
Wasn't willow used to scrub off after a good sauna?
