Ostara (often pronounced Estara) is the old Anglo-Saxon pagan festival spring festival with all its associations with fertility. In Anglo-Saxon England images of eggs, the March hare and other seasonal features were the norm. In some parts of England it was even the custom to gather bundles of twigs or rods to symbolise new growth. It is not hard to suppose that other uses were found for such objects. Between Ostara and Bale or May Day (known as Beltane in Celtic tradition) various customs across Europe associated the whipping or spanking of the female bottom with fertility.

Often this took the form of a formal ceremony, such as the Greeks and Roman’s enjoyed, but for others there were parties or crude pranks of varying degrees.

In the modern Czech Republic these traditions survive as the custom of Pomlazka, where young men and boys are often encouraged to seek out young women and whip their bottoms. Responses to this custom vary and opinions differ with traditionalist seeing it as a bit of fun and others attributing darker motives.

The pictures above are from actual Easter festivities and you can see that someone meant business.