Morana - death of winter and celebration of spring
In Czechia we say goodbye to winter and hello to spring by making a Morana doll. Morana, the goddess of death and winter, is usually wearing white clothes and empty eggshells or empty snail shells around her neck and she can be held up by a stick. A procession of young people from the village would walk together holding the Morana up and singing about the death of winter and the coming of spring, surrounded by the rest of the village. This procession would usually walk to the nearest river, pond or lake, there they would set the Morana on fire and throw her into it. This tradition varied from town to town but today it is celebrated mostly by kindergartens, schools, different organisations… even in cities!
