Zuzana HabšudováBratislava's Main Square will host 24 booths selling Easter trinkets until April 23.photo: Vladimír Čuvala
For the sixth time, the town council of the Bratislava Old Town will promote Slovak Easter traditions, which nowadays mainly survive only in villages, on the capital city's Main Square (Hlavné námestie). The Main square has recently been adorned with booths selling hand-made products representing the unique Slovak Easter traditions, in which the men and boys use whips to lightly slap at the legs of the women. Women are also subjected to having water or perfume poured on them, to which the females are expected to respond by offering shots of alcohol, hand-painted eggs, and money to the men. The Easter booths on the square will provide boys with the whips they'll wield when whipping the local girls, while the girls can choose from a variety of the decorated eggs.
There are 24 stands on the square, each unique. Trinkets made from ceramics, figures made from husks, toys made from wood, crocheted table clothes, pictures reflecting the eastern traditions with people dressed in their folk costumes from all around Slovakia can all be purchased. The people who make the products are in many cases the sellers and they are happy to explain the intricate techniques necessary for their craft.
The artists are mostly from Bratislava, but surrounding villages such as Modra, famous for its special ceramics and hand decorated gingerbread, also participate in this Easter fair. Foreign visitors who come to visit and compare Slovak traditions will be pleasantly surprised to discover that most of the sellers speak some English or German.
The booths will remain open till the end of April 23. Booth highlights include the colourfully painted eggs made by Dana Tóthová, the little corn husk figures made by Helena Minarovičová, and the eggs, pigs, and bells made from ceramics as well as baskets with the Bratislava castle hand-painted on them by Blaha Jozef Veneli.
