Yesterday evening, Monday 30th April, I attended my first ever Carodejnice, here in my adopted home village of Stará Oleška. In the nearly ten years that I have lived in the Czech Republic, I had both heard and read about Carodejnice, but had never experienced the tradition whilst living in urban Prague. However, in the North Bohemian countryside, the tradition is alive and well.
Carodejnice is very similar to the better-known Germanic tradition of Walpurgis Night. It involves having a large bonfire on which the effigy of a witch is burnt. Historically, the idea was to ward off evil spirits. These days, it is used as the opportunity for an outdoor evening party, helped by the following day being May Day or Labour Day, a public holiday.
The Stará Oleška Carodejnice took place on a large grassed area, directly behind Restaurace U Soni. This had been thoroughly prepared over the previous couple of weeks with the grass being neatly mown, a bonfire built, a stall for serving food set up, and two large spit roasters put in place. Then on the day, all the tables and benches from the front terrace of Restaurace U Soni, were transported around the back, out onto the grass.
The evening started at around 17.00, with a series of games for the children. At the same time, the spit roasters were lit to later produce a continuous supply of roasted ham, served with bread & various sauces. Later also, there were sausages that could be put on long sticks and roasted in the fire.
The normal bar and restaurant were closed for the evening. Instead, there was a temporary outdoor bar at the back of the building, serving beer, wine, spirits, soft drinks and tea! Everybody paid for their drinks in the normal manner. An entrance fee of CZK 100, (€4.00/£3.50) per adult, covered the cost of the food.
Just as it was getting dark, the bonfire was lit from the back. Just before it was lit, someone added a second witch 🙂 Soon the bonfire was well alight and both witches were quickly burnt.
The party continued on into the evening, with tables and benches being carried to be nearer the bonfire as the evening air became cooler. It was a lovely event to be part of, very well-attended by village residents, together with some from slightly further afield. We were fortunately blessed with a fine, clear evening, and later on, by a full moon.
PS – Once again, I must apologise for the lack of a hácek above both the ‘C’ and first ‘e’ in ‘Carodejnice’, and above the ‘c’ in hácek. Unfortunately, as I have previously explained, if I put them in, my blog set up cannot cope and ‘ Carodejnice’ would become ‘ ?arod?jnice’.