Easter Monday (Velikonoční pondělí) is one of the most recognisably Czech holidays of the year. Although Easter is a Christian festival, the Monday celebration in Czechia is strongly shaped by older spring customs associated with health, fertility, renewal and the end of winter.
For foreign visitors, this is the holiday most likely to produce a genuine “I have never seen that before” moment. The braided willow whip called a pomlázka, decorated eggs known as kraslice, ribbons, visiting from house to house and regional folk costumes make Czech Easter Monday culturally distinctive even within Central Europe.
What is celebrated?
In the Christian calendar, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, with Easter Sunday as the central religious feast. Czech Easter Monday, however, has developed into a day dominated by folk customs rather than church ritual.
The traditions vary by family and region. They are generally stronger in villages and in parts of Moravia than in large urban centres, although Easter markets and cultural programmes make the symbols visible everywhere.
The pomlázka tradition
The best-known Czech custom is the pomlázka, a whip braided from fresh willow twigs and often decorated with ribbons. Traditionally, boys and men visit girls and women on Easter Monday morning and lightly, symbolically tap them with the pomlázka while reciting an Easter rhyme or carol.
The traditional meaning is not punishment: the fresh willow is associated with spring vitality, and the custom was meant to pass health, youth and energy to the person being visited. In return, visitors traditionally receive decorated eggs, sweets, ribbons and, for adults in some regions, a small drink.
For outsiders the custom can look surprising. Modern practice varies greatly, from families that enthusiastically maintain it to people who avoid it entirely. Visitors should treat it as a local tradition rather than assume everyone wants to participate.
Kraslice: Czech decorated Easter eggs
Decorated eggs, or kraslice, are another central symbol. Czech egg decoration has many regional techniques: painting, scratching patterns into dyed shells, wax-resist decoration, onion-skin colouring, wirework and even delicate perforated designs.
Historically, eggs represented new life and fertility. They also served as a traditional gift to Easter Monday visitors. Today they are equally important as household decorations and craft-market souvenirs.
Traditional Easter food and sweets
Czech Easter has a richer food tradition than most civic public holidays. Typical dishes and baking include:
- mazanec – a round sweet yeast bread, usually with raisins and almonds;
- velikonoční beránek – a sweet cake baked in the shape of a lamb, often dusted with sugar or covered with chocolate;
- jidáše – sweet yeast pastries associated especially with Holy Thursday;
- velikonoční nádivka – savoury Easter stuffing, often with bread, eggs, smoked meat and fresh green herbs or young nettles;
- eggs in many forms, reflecting their role as a symbol of new life;
- spring meats such as lamb, veal or young poultry in households that prepare a festive Easter Sunday or Monday meal.
Because Czech Easter spans several days, these foods are not limited strictly to Monday. You will see them in bakeries, markets and homes throughout the Easter weekend.
Easter markets and regional traditions
Prague, Brno and many other cities hold Easter markets with decorated stalls, traditional crafts, food and cultural programmes. If you want a deeper encounter with folk traditions, open-air museums and villages in Moravia and other regions often demonstrate egg painting, pomlázka braiding, baking and historic Easter customs.
Regional variation matters. In some communities, folk costumes, music and door-to-door visiting remain strong; elsewhere Easter Monday is simply a relaxed family day.
Are shops open on Easter Monday?
Easter Monday is one of the dates when large Czech retail stores over 200 m² must normally close. Smaller shops and statutory exceptions—such as certain pharmacies, petrol stations and stores in transport locations—may still operate.
This is an easy holiday for visitors to misjudge because many large supermarkets can open on Good Friday but must close on Easter Monday. Use the retailer table on this page for major-chain information and shop for groceries in advance if you depend on a hypermarket.
Ideas for spending Easter Monday
Good options include:
- visiting an Easter market;
- taking children to a folk museum with craft demonstrations;
- exploring a village or region where traditions remain active;
- joining a family Easter lunch;
- taking a spring walk after the morning customs;
- visiting castles or cultural attractions with Easter programming.
Easter Monday is therefore much more than a day when shops close. It is one of the best dates in the Czech calendar for seeing the country’s mixture of Christian heritage, pre-Christian seasonal symbolism, craft traditions and modern family life.