Pomlázka
The pomlázka is a braided whip of fresh willow twigs that Czech boys carry on Easter Monday, when they go from house to house lightly switching girls and women to wish them health, freshness and beauty, receiving painted eggs and coloured ribbons in return. The name comes from pomladit, 'to make young again', and the custom preserves an old spring-renewal rite of driving out winter and coaxing new life, in which the willow, one of the first trees to bud, was held to carry special power. Skilled makers plait eight, twelve or even more rods into a smooth handle, bind the tip with ribbon and ofte