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COVID -19, Czech Easter traditions, Czech heritage, daily writing, Easter, ethnic, Holy Week, inspiration, pandemic, quarantine, social distancing, Uncategorized

Day 21: Easter Monday in the COVID-19 quarantine

April 13, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Czech and Slovak Easter Monday traditions

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – Celebrate Easter responsibly with a six foot long whip.

Those were the guidelines for Easter Monday from the Czech officials. Social distancing restrictions have also impacted some beloved Easter customs in Czech Republic known as the whipping of the women called “schmigrust” on Easter Monday.”

“How?” you asked.

“The whips just got longer to satisfy the six-foot social distancing requirement.“

On the night before Easter Monday, the men braided the whips from willow branches. The whip consists of eight, twelve or even 24 withies (willow rods.) They headed out early on Monday morning either individually or as a team. Even before social distancing, the leader of the team carried the biggest whip with the most ribbons. The team members had their personal whips and rattles. The noisy procession went from house to house seeking out the loveliest females, who had the prettiest ribbons. This custom is known as “pomlazka.”

Easter Monday whipping before the COVID-19 quarantine.

According to some accounts, (including my own) the purpose of whipping is for males to exhibit their attraction to females; unvisited females can even feel offended. I wrote about this Easter Monday whipping tradition in my upcoming book the “Greenwich Meridian Memoir.” Watch for excerpts coming up during the COVID-19 quarantine.

The lashing would take place at the doorstep to the famous Easter rhyme:

“Hody, hody, doprovody, give me a colored egg, if you don’t have a colored egg, give me at least a white one, the hen will lay another one.”

Depending on the household, the lady of the house, tied a ribbon to the whip, handed out eggs and poured shots of the famous plum brandy known as sliwowitz.

Festive Easter deviled eggs-casino style

The whipping custom dates back to the pagan times. It was meant to chase away bad spirits, sickness and bring health and youth to everyone for the rest of the year. In our Moravian region, we were told that it symbolized the whipping of Christ.

If the women of the household were popular and the Easter team arrived late, there would be no ribbons or shots left for them.

On the other hand, you could see drunken teams in the afternoon out on the streets.

We have always adhered to this “schmigrust” custom wherever we lived in the world, except for this year due to the Coronavirus quarantine. We still have the personal braided whips from Czech and the giant rattle.

As a renaissance tradition, I made deviled eggs or eggs casino style from the dyed Easter eggs.

You just scoop out the yolks into a bowl, mix it with butter and mustard, you can add chopped up ham.

Below is a video of the Czech prime minister Andrej Babis lashing his wife.

Thank you health care workers.

Stay tuned for day by day coverag of the COVID-19 quarantine.

Tomorrow: Hastings woman infected with Coronavirus struggles to get better.

Czech heritage, daily writing, Easter, Holy Week, inspiration, Uncategorized

Day 19: Easter Vigil in the COVID-19 quarantine

April 11, 2020 emmapalova Leave a comment

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Easter alone, Whites Bridge rediscovered

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI -Due to the Coronavirus quarantine, we will not have our Easter family gathering with my parents Ella & Vaclav, and our son Jake. I spent the sunny day in my well-lit kitchen working on Easter preparations, even though it will be just Ludek and I.

I colored eggs in five different dyes with an attempt to draw a bunny on a few of them. The bunny showed up only on the green egg. I marinated lamb chops in herbes de Provence, garlic and red Cabernet from a box. And finally I made my famous red beet elixir to strengthen our immunity and to boost the spirit.

Ludek had no bread, so we drove to the Otisco Bakery to get a loaf of sourdough. In Slavic countries, there is a blessing of the traditional Easter foods , prepared in baskets onEaster Vigil held on Saturday night.

Fresh baked sourdough from the Otisco Bakery

Since we were in Otisco Township, home to the famous Whites Bridge, we took the gravel road to check it out. It was well worth the bumpy drive. There it was standing in its new beauty – the perfect replica of the 1869 Whites Bridge across the Flat River.

An arsonist, who has never been caught, burnt it down on July 7, 2013.

Late in the afternoon, I watched fishermen fishing from kayaks on Murray Lake. I feel blessed living in the country and having somewhere to go without traveling.

I pray for reprieve for people living in big cities during the COVID-19 shutdown. May there be relief for all of us soon.

Stay tuned for day by day coverage of the shutdown.

COVID -19, daily writing, excerpts, Greenwich Meridian memoir, Holy Week, inspiration, memoir, pandemic, quarantine, Uncategorized, writing

DAY 18: Good Friday in the COVID-19 qarantine

April 10, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Easter Triduum

By Emma Palova

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

-Vaclav Havel

Lowell, MI – In early March before the official outbreak of the coronavirus in Michigan, we had a discussion with Ludek about the kissing of the cross on Good Friday. We we were wondering how are we going to handle that, since COVID-19 was already in the U.S.

Good Friday service from the empty St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Grand Rapids.

During the catholic liturgies, there is a lot to come into contact whether it’s during a Paschal service or a regular mass. What seems to be like ages ago, we decided we will not go to Good Friday services protect our health .

Well, now we know that we’re not going, because all masses have been cancelled due to the stay-at-home order in Michigan. We will wath the service on WMXI Fox https://www.fox17online.com/ at 3 p.m. today.

From the Easter Triduum, the Good Friday liturgy is my favorite one because of the reading of “The Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to John.

The passion reading has inspired Mel Gibson’s 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ” and countless other works of art. Rightfully so, following is an excerpt from the Passion:

EXCERPT: The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to John.

Narrator: Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them,

Christ: “Whom are you looking for?”

Narrator: They answered him,

Crowd: ” Jesus, the Nazorean.”

The above passage is very close to how you write a screenplay.

The reading of the Passion from the empty St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Grand Rapids gave a very powerful message of suffering of the Christ.

Earlier in the day I worked on the intro to my upcoming book “Greenwich Meridian Memoir.”

Introduction to the Greenwich Meridian Memoir

Here is what I have so far:

I am writing this introduction during the unprecedented time of the coronavirus shutdown, as we celebrate the Easter Triduum in front of televised services in empty churches across the nation without audiences.

Greenwich Meridian Memoir cover designed by Jeanne Boss.

In Michigan, we are on our 18^th day of the COVID-19 quarantine that has been extended through April 30, 2020. Coronavirus is now the leading cause of death in the U.S. It has caused 1,970 deaths across the country per day. As of early Friday, the U.S. had more than 465,750 coronavirus cases, according to data from John Hopkins University. More than 1.4 million cases have been reported globally.

More than half a billion people around the globe are under a stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the deadly virus. This includes my homeland, the Czech Republic. The coronavirus does not discriminate or recognize borders between the states, the countries or the continents. Some are calling it an apocalypse.

Our immigration story from former socialist Czechoslovakia to the U.S. has come full circle; from one history milestone to another one.

The milestone that offset our journey across three continents was the reformist movement known as the Prague Spring 1968 under the leadership of Alexander Dubcek.

The epic story of love and desire for freedom spans 52 years on the date of publishing of this memoir. The major characters, Ella and Vaclav Konecny, are my parents, to whom I have dedicated this memoir. Mom Ella was a happy pharmacist in former Czechoslovakia, while Dad Vaclav was an unhappy mathematician in the old country.

Dad’s quest for his career fulfillment has been a constant source of inspiration for me in good and in bad times.

Stay tuned for day by day coverage of the COVID-19 quarantine in Michigan.

COVID -19, daily writing, Holy Week, inspiration, news, quarantine, Uncategorized, writing

Day 17: COVID-19 quarantine extended until April 30

April 9, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Stay-at-home order tightens restrictions on stores, no exceptions for golf courses, construction and landscaping

By Emma Palova

Food and medicine will be the only commodities for box stores left to sell, according to the extended stay-at-home order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Only four customers per 1,000 square feet are allowed with social distancing markings. Only one person from the household should be running the errands.

“We have to double down to save lives, “ Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.

All private and public gatherings are prohibited, although recreational activities are permitted within the social distancing limitations.

As of today, Michigan has had 1,076 positive Coronavirus cases and 117 deaths.

Michigan is expected to reach peak in the Coronavirus cases this weak, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Guard turned the Suburban Collection showplace into a field hospital in Detroit. The USDA will provide snack benefits for kids who were taking reduced cost lunches at school when it was session. This aid translates into $193 per child per month.

Whitmer said the state is now fighting two crisis: health and economic.

“We are in control of our fate,” Whitmer said. “The numbers represent people’s lives. If we all take this crisis seriously, we will come out of it robustly.

“This has been a hard month. This virus is holding a mirror to our society and its inequities.”

Whitmer referred to the fact that people of color have been hit the hardest with 40 percent of Afro-American deaths.

“We will come out of this having learned something, as we recover from COVID-19,” she said. “We will be working on long term solutions. It is time to intensify our efforts.”

According to Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, it is necessary to double down to slow the spread of the disease, while building up the hospital capacity. However more medical professions are needed mainly respiratory therapists and registered nurses.

“This disease is incredibly deadly,” Whitmer said. “Any exceptions would make it porous. Landscaping and golf courses are not critical infrastructure.”

The Easter Triduum starts today with Holy Thursday.

Stay tuned for day by day coverage of the Coronavirus crisis.

COVID -19, Czech name days, daily writing, Easter, environment, inspiration, Michigan authors, Uncategorized

DAY 16: Celebrating in the Covid-19 quarantine

April 8, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

“Life is patchwork-here and there, scraps of pleasure and despair. Joined together, hit or miss.”
-Anne Bronaugh

Birthdays at home

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – Even in these unprecendented times, life goes on; babies are born, birthdays arrive, surgeries need to be done, and the Czech calendar shows it’s my name day today.

This morning, I wished a happy birthday and name day to our daughter Doc Emma, who works on the frontlines in France. Usually, she is surrounded by friends, not this time. The grandkids wished me a happy name day.

My nephew George welcomed baby Victoria into the world on April 1. Congratulations.

For my name day, I get a spring bouquet, but not this year. No one is going out to shop for flowers. That’s okay too, because I delight in my beautiful gardens year round. Instead of flowers, I got a trail mix. I will use it on my next trail walk.

Fellow Michigan author Darla Jean Davis of Holland posted this morning on Facebook that neighbors who could not open their usual farm stand dropped off a huge bouquet of daffodils. How thoughtful of them, they made my name day happier.

Giant daffodil bouquet given to fellow Michigan author Darla Jean Davis. The neighbors couldn’t open their usual farm stand.

A walk on the old rail bed converted into a trail under the finicky April sun refreshed my spirits. The trail is 10 feet wide, so we could still social distance of six feet with fellow trail lovers.

We also got some manure from the Hidden Creek Stables on Belding Road for our garden and my roses.

In the meantime, the news continues to stream in at fast pace. Gov. Whitmer is expected to announce the extension of the stay-at-home executive order in Michigan by the end of this week.

And Easter is upon us starting with Holy Thursday, followed by Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. All these services will be celebrated without an audience for the first time in history.

There has been a lot of firsts in March and April.

I will color our Easter eggs in onion skins, since we had no time to buy dyes, let alone to buy a leg of lamb.

“You’re not going to drop of some lamb at my doorstep?” mom Ella asked.

“No, I won’t. We will have to do without lamb,” I said.

More scary news: a friend couldn’t get into the hospital for a critical surgery.

Local dairy farmers report they will have to dump milk because their main customers are closed.

Silver lining: the nature is awakening regardless the COVID-19 horrors around the globe.

And better times are sure to come, said Queen Elizabeth in a rare special address.

Stay tuned for day by day COVID-19 quarantine in Michigan coverage.

COVID -19, daily writing, inspiration, pandemic, Uncategorized

Day 13: Holy Week in the time of COVID-19 quarantine

April 5, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Reality sinks in

By Emma Palova

Today is Palm Sunday. Bishop David Walkowiak served the mass with palm branches in the empty St. Andrews Cathedral in Grand Rapids to the recorded Hosanna, commemorating Jerusalem greeting Jesus. This was the fourth Sunday broadcast without an audience, but with a 300 percent increase in TV spectators. The Pope served the Palm Sunday mass in an empty St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. Queen Elizabeth gave a special address for the fourth time only in her 68-year long reign.

This will be a Holy Week filled with tragedy as the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths are expected to rise again. The clergy prayed for the deadly pandemic to end.

I also watched a Czech mass on Zoom from Velehrad, California, broadcast from the Czech missionary priest’s home. There were only 23 Czech and Slovak participants from the entire world.

The surgeon general warned that the upcoming week will be our “Pearl Harbor” moment and “9/11” moment.

“Do not leave your house unless you absolutely have to,” warnings rezonated all over the TV.

The year that Easter didn’t come

We’re only a week away from Easter Sunday. There will be no public egg hunts or girls wearing pretty spring dresses with laces and ribbons due to the Coronavirus quarantine. There will be no Easter specials as the malls are closed. More than half of the world’s population is under a stay-at-home order.

However, a glimmer of good news arrived from the pandemic epicenter NYC that the number of coronavirus deaths has dipped.

Exploring nature, finally

Walking the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail.

Earlier in the day we went for a walk on the Fred Meijer Flat River Trail that almost abuts to our front yard. Only a gravel road separates us from the trail that connects Lowell to Belding.

For years, the trail group worked hard to convert the old railroad bed into trail for public use. Recently, the trail has been surfaced with crushed asphalt. It took the Coronavirus quarantine for people to discover this treasure.

As I delighted at the new trail bridges, I discovered a rock with chalk art. Someone left a message of encouragement: Be brave.

Since my husband Ludek had to pick up some groceries in Grand Rapids, we stopped at an eerie scene.

The usually year round busy Woodland Mall looked like a ghost town with vast empty parking lots stretching from nowhere to nowhere.

All this was happening under the deceiving April sun. My daffodils are ready to open their yellow beauty to the world, oblivious to the coronavirus horrors.

Stay tuned for day by day coverage of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S.

Camp NaNoWriMo, COVID -19, daily writing, Greenwich Meridian memoir, immigration, inspiration, pandemic, Uncategorized, wellness

Day 9: COVID-19 as Catalyst

April 1, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Coronavirus brings us closer together

“When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of, what we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go from darkness into darkness.”

Maya Angelou

Lowell, MI- Together we can accomplish anything. We will get through this together. Each one of us has a part to play.

How many times do we get to chat simultaneously with people from Florida, Oklahoma , Minnesota and Michigan?

I did for the first time earlier in the day via video chat Zoo room app. I connected with familiar faces, and I am so grateful for technology with all its whims.

https://zooroom.chat/

Today marks the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo. It’s a great platform to start or finish your writing projects.

https://nanowrimo.org/what-is-camp-nanowrimo

Coronavirus quarantine survival tips

How many times in the past have you complained, that you don’t have time for anything? Now you do.

Ludek Pala works on isolating and putting up drywall in the laundry room.

Find a home improvement project. Finish what you have started years ago.

Learn something new: cooking, baking, writing poetry, painting.

Go outside and take pictures of spring arriving.

Offer to help others with their struggles; it will ease your own.

Keep a journal.

Live, love and laugh.

Camp NaNoWriMo, COVID -19, Greenwich Meridian memoir, inspiration, Uncategorized

Day 8: COVID-19 quarantine in Michigan

March 31, 2020 emmapalova Leave a comment

Glimmers of hope

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the social distancing measures appear to be working.

The daily increases in Coronavirus cases may be slowing down as a result of mitigation efforts on all fronts. However, the Coronavirus pandemic remains very serious as close to 300 people have died in Michigan.

Going into the eighth day of the COVID-19 quarantine in Michigan, the news of a possible slowdown of the spread of the virus comes at the right time. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plans to announce whether the schools will reopen on Thursday.

I have only 30 more pages to correct in the Greenwich Meridian Memoir manuscript.

My parents should have arrived back in Michigan this evening.

My husband will be putting up the drywall in the laundry tomorrow.

I have a virtual meeting scheduled for Wednesday. I am signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo starting tomorrow.

From my Taurus horoscope:

Keep your cool as you put one foot in front of the other, taking small but impactful steps that move the needle forward.

Things are looking up. Spread hope around you.

COVID -19, inspiration, National Novel Writing Month, Uncategorized

Day 6: COVID-19 quarantine in Michigan

March 29, 2020 emmapalova 2 Comments

Stay at home, save lives

By Emma Palova

On the fifth Sunday of Lent, I watched the mass broadcast on TV from the empty St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Grand Rapids due to the Coronavirus quarantine.

Televised mass without an audience from St. Andrew’s Cathedral Cathedral in Grand Rapids.

I do my daily Lenten readings from The Little Black Book 6-minute meditations and in shock I came across this reading for March 28, that I somehow missed.

The bubonic plague in Oberammergau

When an outbreak of the bubonic plague began to spread in the 17th century, the people of Oberammergau prayed to be spared. They vowed that the whole community would, every 10 years, stage a massive production presenting the story of Christ’s death and resurrection to the world. The town was spared from the plague, and the tradition of the Oberammergau Passion Play was born. It’s first performance was in 1634.

The Passion Play is scheduled for this year from May 16 to Oct. 4. It is performed on an open stage with seating for nearly 5,000 spectators. Members of the 1,700 cast must be Oberammergau natives, or have lived there for 10 years. The play lasts a whole day, with a three-hour break for lunch. The play is performed five times a week for several months.

But, on Thursday, the organizers of the play- which has a cast of some 2,500 and can feature 900 people on stage at once- announced they were canceling this years edition, because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The first of the 103 daylong performances had been scheduled for May 16.

Historically, the human kind has been plagued by diseases from the bubonic plague, tuberculosis, Spanish influenza to Coronavirus, to name just a few.

The least we can do is to quarantine ourselves to protect others from the spread of the virus.

Tips:

Learn something new. It’s Sunday, cook up a storm.

Join a video chat room at:

Zoo room

You can also participate in #StayHomeWrimo creative initiative by the National Novel Writing Month organizers.

Camp NaNoWriMo, inspiration, National Novel Writing Month, pandemic, Shifting Sands Short Stories, Uncategorized

Day 5: Creativity offsets COVID-19 anxiety

March 28, 2020 emmapalova 1 Comment

Perfection: All the shades of white

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – I have found out that creativity battles the anxiety invoked by the Coronavirus shutdown the best.

Facing the dark stats, how do I wake up inspiration from its gloomy dream? First of all, I had to turn off all the devices I own. Next I am trying to push out of my head all the images of suffering and exhaustion I’ve seen over the last two weeks.

I have to substitute the negative with the positive; easier said than done. I have to transform and focus on the light with its different shades.

I found relief again in the “Hope in Uncertain Times” meditation with Oprah & Deepak Chopra. I can see light instead of darkness.

You can also participate in NaNoWriMo’s initiative to keep your sanity. https://nanowrimo.org/stayhomewrimo

You can sign up for @Camp NaNoWriMo starting in April. It helped me finish my writing projects.

Also watch for my kindle giveaway of Shifting Sands: Short Stories on Amazon.

Featured photo: Perfection: All the shades of white.