There are different ways the importance of these Easter traditions take hold in Czechian folklore. There are the ways these traditions developed, and the feelings those who celebrate them have towards these traditions. Svatava Pirkova-Jakobson explains in their article, Harvest Festivals among Czechs and Slovaks in America, that many festivals celebrated in Czech culture are based around the seasons and the circle of life. In this sense, Easter is a festival meant to be celebrate adolescents and young adults, the cusp of childhood to adulthood. This would help to explain why many of the Easter customs like the decorating of eggs or the use of decorated Willow twigs are rituals for children and young adults to perform during the week of Easter.
The decorating of Kraslice eggs is one of the most interesting parts of Easter tradition. It also is part of the old folklore that persists to this day when celebrating. According to Jamila Honzikova in their article, "The name "Kraslice" comes from the old-Slav word 'Krasnyi' (red). The red colour was favored most for being the colour of love and blood, joy and life, and for symbolizing safety and protection."(Honzikova, 2016, pg194). Other colors also represented different things, such as natural earthen tones to represent the sun, and the absence of blue eggs in old customs as blue was the color for death. However, in modern times, many Kraslice eggs in beautiful blue colour can be found by egg makers or in Prague, the capitol of the Czechia. This is a way of showcasing how different customs have grown and evolved over time, and the meaning of these customs has different weight depending on who is celebrating them. To some people, blue eggs still may be seen as untraditional for the occasion, while others embrace the beautiful blue eggs and attribute new meaning to them. See more of different Kraslice colors and techniques in the Gallery page!
It is interesting to see the different kinds of techniques that go into the making of Easter eggs. Kraslice methods can vary in technique that produce different, breathtaking results. Jarmila notes that, "Various techniques were used for decoration- was batiking, etching, plastic - relief decoration, batiking with plants, decorating with glued-on-straw, and many others". From this list of ways you can create Kraslice eggs, its clear that it is an art form meant to be explored with different techniques and to find ways that make it beautiful to the individual. Children loved to invent games with the eggs they had decorated. Not only were the eggs used in rituals like the Easter Monday Whipping, but also in small games, such as rolling the egg as far as it could without cracking. According to Jarmila, children loved to invent new games with their eggs that didn't always have to follow traditional standards. An important part of understanding how these traditions continue to exist and thrive is seeing what they mean to the people who celebrate them. Svatava sums this concept up beautifully in an interview with several people in America who are celebrating Czechian festivals and who work to let others know about them. The woman being interviewed recounts, "We have always done it. This is how it always was. Our ancestors did it, so we do it too. My grandmother did it every year, why shouldn't I?. . .We do it because it is fun". In the importance of folklore and its persistence throughout time, it really appears that the fun in it all keeps people coming back to these rituals in ways that persist throughout the changing of meaning and context that take place throughout the generations. For some of these rituals, the original meanings have been lost or changed, but the fun in participating in them still remains true.
