Burning of Thy Witches

In Prague, April 30th marks the eve of "Burning of the Witches" [pálení čarodějnic] which is an old Czech tradition where people make bonfires and burn witches made out of straw. The point is to ward off all evil and winter and welcome in spring. Even though I love winter, I'm ready for y lst week and a half here to be nice. I felt obligated to contribute.

Obviously I became obssessed with the idea of us going to the celebration that is most authentic. Researching these bonfires was not the easiest thing since although it is tolerated because of its tradition, bonfires in the middle of the city are stil illegal. On the outskirts of the city, however, is where people really celebrate. So our first stop on this witch burning adventure was Ladronka Park which is about an hour from where we live. Once we got there we see a ton of people walking down a thin dirt path. For about half a mile we just followed the crowd only realizing we were heading in the right direction because of the smell of fire and the sight of smoke. Finally we get the festival and there is a huge bonfire in the middle of a field, venders selling Czech goods, sausages galore, live music, and parents helping their kids fly on brooms. There was even a Ms. Witch competition (everyone had really incredible witch outfits on- I felt a little out of place in my jeans and shirt). It was such a beautiful night to just be hanging outside observing this pagan-like ritual.

After Ladronka Park, we went to Kampa Island which is a little island right off of the Charles Bridge. This was more of an ex-pats scene, but still a good bonfire and tribal music. The views were also spectacular as you could sit on the water and look at the castle lit up at night. The funniest part about this scene was that police were selling hot dogs and sausages out of a police van for people to grill at the bonfire.

Oh, Prague and Czech folk traditions...