The Curious Tradition of Sprinkling Women So They Can Grow
It happens in Hungary at Easter time
“Be careful this weekend, guys might want to sprinkle you”.
“Excuse me?!” — I asked my friend, baffled.
“Yeah, so you can grow, as if you were a flower”.
*Confused face*
This conversation happened during my first year living in Hungary, as we were approaching Easter. That’s when I came across one of the weirdest traditions I have ever seen.
Let me tell you all about sprinkling women on Easter Monday.
Sprinkling Tradition: Water Women So They Can Grow
“Sprinkling” is a Hungarian Easter Monday tradition that involves boys and men visiting their female relatives, friends, and neighbors to sprinkle them with water.
The water is often scented with perfume or cologne and sometimes mixed with other ingredients like eggshells or greenery. Men carry it in buckets or large containers, and go from house to house, knocking on doors and asking for permission to sprinkle the ladies.
Once permission is granted, they sprinkle the girls and, sometimes, recite a little poem or verse wishing them health, beauty, and luck.
