{"id":5346,"date":"2026-03-30T01:28:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T01:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velkeholky.org\/?p=5346"},"modified":"2026-03-30T01:33:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T01:33:45","slug":"pasijovy-tyden-proc-je-pondeli-modre-a-ctvrtek-zeleny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/velkeholky.org\/en\/pasijovy-tyden-proc-je-pondeli-modre-a-ctvrtek-zeleny\/","title":{"rendered":"Holy Week: Why is Monday blue and Thursday green?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A wreath of willow twigs on the door, the smell of butter in the kitchen, eggs on a string on the window \u2014 and you wonder what we're actually celebrating.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There's a story behind every name of every day this week that's worth knowing. So pour yourself a drink, sit back, and let's get started.<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Charming<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Palm Sunday: Where it all begins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Passion Week, or Holy Week, begins Palm Sunday<\/a> \u2014 and the name is not just any name. It commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where people welcomed him with palm branches. Palm trees don't grow much in our country, so willow catkins, hazel, yew, and spring branches took over. To this day, they are blessed in churches, and whoever carried them home believed that they would protect the house and the field for the entire year \u2014 until next year, when they were burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also the last day of the forty-day fast. Such a silent farewell to renunciation, before the main thing comes<\/a>.<\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Blue Monday: Because men didn't work \u2014 and women did<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And here's where it gets interesting. Blue Monday \u2014 why blue? The answer is not clear, and I like that. One theory says that churches were decorated with blue or purple cloth on this day. But then there's the other, more honest one: in German "blau" also means "unable to work." In other words \u2014 a day when there was no work. More precisely: men didn't work. In the meantime, women were preparing everything needed for spring cleaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it twice. Times may change, but this sounds suspiciously familiar, don't you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gray Tuesday: By the weather or cobwebs \u2014 depends on the interpretation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gray or Yellow \u2014 it depends on how our ancestors looked out the window. Sun? Yellow. Cloudy? Gray. A simpler name for the world than we have today. But the second interpretation is more practical: gray are cobwebs, and they had to be carefully swept away that day. The big spring cleaning continued, and those who stayed home had something to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u0160ediv\u00e9<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ugly Wednesday \u2014 or don't frown, or you'll be ugly all year long<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is a day that deserves its own chapter. Ugly Wednesday commemorates Judas' betrayal \u2014 and that is an ugly deed, as they say. But folk tradition went even further: whoever frowns on this day will frown every Wednesday for the whole year. So smile, even if you don't. Tradition commands it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also called Sazometn\u00e1 because chimneys were swept \u2014 and evil spirits were driven out of the house. And the food? It had to be "ugly" \u2014 not in taste, but in appearance.<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Most often, a potato pancake torn into pieces. It looked ugly, but it was good. Sometimes it's the same with the middle itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maundy Thursday: The Day When Everything Comes Out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maundy Thursday is one of those days that has a special energy \u2014 and our ancestors knew it well. It commemorates Jesus\u201e Last Supper, and Christians commemorate it with a service in which the priest washes the feet of twelve parishioners. Then the organs and bells fall silent \u2014 they \u201cfly to Rome\u201d \u2014 and are replaced by the clang of rattles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name Green came about a bit by accident, or rather a play on language: in German it was originally Greindonnerstag \u2014 Maundy Thursday. As an anagram, it became Gr\u00fcndonnerstag \u2014 Green Thursday. So there was nothing green about it originally. And yet the custom of eating green food on this day took hold: spinach, cabbage, nettles, peas. For health all year round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there's that beautiful superstition: whatever you plant on Maundy Thursday will grow beautifully and will not be attacked by vermin. If you have a garden, you know what to do. The housewife swept the house before sunrise, taking the garbage behind the threshing floor or to the crossroads \u2014 to keep the fleas out. Then there was no work in the afternoon. This was a day of abundance and preparation, not toil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judas \u2014 a loop-shaped pastry smeared with honey \u2014 is still baked today. You eat it and wonder who came up with the idea of naming the delicious pastry after the traitor.<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Good Friday: Day of Silence and Miraculous Water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good Friday is a day of mourning \u2014 Jesus was crucified and buried. Believers gather for church services around three in the afternoon, church bells are silent, and fasting is strict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is also something that fascinates me about this day: water. Easter water \u2014 the one from a spring or well \u2014 had special powers. On Good Friday, you went to the well to wash yourself; if you didn't have time, Saturday or Sunday would suffice. They say you will be more beautiful then. Good Friday water cured eye diseases, fever, and headaches. Added to dough, it protected bread from mold. It was used to wash buildings and stables, and cattle grazed in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the contrary \u2014 washing clothes in the river was not allowed. It was said that it would be soaked in the blood of Christ. The old tradition prefers not to mention washing machines, so we are safe there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there are the treasures. Good Friday was said to be the day when the mountains opened<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 and the treasures hidden in them were briefly revealed to human eyes. Karel Jarom\u00edr Erben knew this well. And the troops? Under Blan\u00edk, under Kun\u011btick\u00e1 hora, under the Vy\u0161ehrad rock \u2014 they are said to wake up on this night. Anyone moving around Velk\u00fd Blan\u00edk on Good Friday should be careful. Night military maneuvers, as tradition says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Holy Saturday: Day of Preparation and Holy Fire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

White Saturday probably takes its name from the Anabaptists, who wore white robes as a symbol of purity. The morning was for mourning at Jesus' tomb, and the evening and night were for celebrating the resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fire had a similar power on this day as water had on Friday.<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bonfires were lit in front of churches, and from their embers new fires were created in houses \u2014 with cleansing and protective powers. The ashes and embers were scattered on meadows and fields to ensure good fruit production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in the meantime? At home, they were preparing sweets, knitting poml\u00e1\u017eky, painting eggs. Their hands were full of work, but it was a nice busy time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Velikono\u010dn\u00ed<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Easter Sunday and Monday: The bells have returned from Rome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, the bells rang \u2014 they had returned from Rome. Jesus rose from the dead, and for believers this is the greatest holiday of the year. After forty days of fasting, delicacies appeared on the tables: stuffing, butter, lamb made from yeast dough, bread, eggs, wine. A portion of the consecrated food belonged to each guest in the house \u2014 and a piece to the household, so that it would prosper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter Monday is no longer technically part of Holy Week,<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n

but who would solve that. The poml\u00e1zka, the carol, the painted egg \u2014 that's the part that even children remember. And the red color on Easter eggs? There's a reason for that: it's the color of Christ's blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So next time you hear "Blue Monday" on Monday or break Judas over coffee on Thursday \u2014 you'll know where the name comes from. And maybe you'll think about that spinach on Maundy Thursday: oh well, tradition has its logic. Sometimes kind, sometimes a little ugly \u2014 but always alive.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Velikono\u010dn\u00ed<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here are four recipes \u2014 each with a story and proper steps. \ud83c\udf3f<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ugly Potato Pancakes (for Ugly Wednesday)\ud83e\udd54 <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Serving<\/strong>
4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n