Easter in Slovakia | Basket Blessings in Bardejov

I can’t say that I’m an expert on Slovakian traditions. Hell, I’m barely knowledgable about what goes on in this part of the world. But, one thing I do know: I am positively smitten with the way Slovakians lead their lives, and their Easter traditions are merely a few of my favorite things about these Eastern Europeans.

My husband, Victor, is sorta Slovakian. Although he was born in Russia and his mother is Russian, his father was Slovakian, and when V was still a child the family moved to Bardejov, Slovakia, which is where V spent his youth. When I finally got to visit his hometown, I was blown away by how much I loved it. Like, really really loved it. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, so you know it’s *special*. And yes, there is gorgeous architecture, a quaint town square, and a medieval vibe (walled city, cobblestones everywhere, etc), and yes, that’s cool.

But it’s so much more than a tourist destination. It’s a real place. People live here not to cash in on the UNESCO tourism but because they’ve been here all their lives (generations of lives), and because their families and friends and memories are here. I love seeing the square alive with couples walking arm & arm, moms pushing strollers, dads carrying groceries, babushkas chatting with one another — all Bardejov residents doing what they do. It’s literally marvelous to me because it looks like a giant movie set.

Easter is particularly incredible, a five day extravaganza of activities, any one of which is fascinating but altogether seems like something out of a fairy tale. I can write more about all of it at another time — today, I’m focusing on Easter Saturday since, well, it’s Easter Saturday and I’m currently in Slovakia :). The families in the area pack up their Easter meals (usually cheeses, eggs, klobasas, hunks of meat, maybe a sweet) into Easter baskets and head to the town square for it to be blessed by the priests. Like, hundreds of people do this. And they all stay respectfully quiet for the hour it takes for the priests to walk around blessing everyone’s baskets. Then, as the blessings wind down, the townspeople continue on their merry way, carrying the baskets home to spread the food out on the table for the family to enjoy. Maybe I’m just a simple person but, to me, this was all pretty awesome.

These photos are my particular Easter Saturday experience with my husband, Victor, and his sister, Iveta. We got there kinda early, and since there were only about 50 people in line, I figured people didn’t really honor the tradition any more. But people kept coming. And coming. And eventually there were several hundred of them! I left the area for a bit during the blessings to walk around & photograph the square, since it’s ridiculously pretty, so that’s how I caught some of the emptier shots. ~love~