Traditional Judos Leader in Skoczów. In spite of your orders, they drive distant evil. The puppet straw burned again
Jacek Drost
April 19, 2025, 15:12
Although nearly 2 decades ago, the priest banned Judos from jumping on Good Friday and the large Saturday, a tradition of respective 100 years survived. At Kaplicówka again, as all year, loud and characteristic ones were: “Kle, cle, cle, cle, cle, cle”, and a straw puppet accompanied by halabarders marched through the streets of the city and was then burned to drive evil out of the village.
Very old tradition
The Judos Walk in Skoczów is simply a very old tradition. The first mention of this customized dates from the turn of the 16th–XVIII century from the diary of the burgrabist Jan Tilgner.
One explanation is that this customized brought with it a Moravian merchant, another that a Moravian priest. During planet War II, German occupiers banned the leadership of Judas.
Permanently the customized has been practiced since the early 20th century, with a tiny break from the 1960s to the 1980s. It was brought back by firemen from the OS, and later the Skoczów Society of Lovers joined the event.
The leadership of Judas was emotional
It was not without controversy - let us remind that in 2008 the parish priest of St Peter and Paul, and besides the dean of the Knights' dean, the late Fr Alojza Zuber, condemned the leadership of Judas in a peculiar letter to the faithful as a pagan rite.
In consequence to the situation, a general gathering of the Society of Skoczów Lovers was held, at which unanimously the decision was made to proceed the customized in 2008.
The consequence of Fr Zuber's letter was to change the procession way with Judas. The puppets ceased to be led in front of the parish church in Skoczów. Judas bows down to the parishes from a greater distance than in front of the building itself. But erstwhile it comes to secular power, a puppet bows before City Hall.
Today, Judas was burned.
Since then, with a break caused by the pandemic on all Good Friday and the large Saturday of the puppet Judas, decorated with colorful ribbons and a necklace with 30 silver pieces, led by the halabarders, wanders through the streets of the village.
Yesterday and today, Judos besides set out in front of the Jumping home of OS, headed for the market, where he bowed to secular power, then from any distance - spiritual, and later Jumping Streets returned to the firemen's headquarters. The Judos were accompanied by jumping, children and adults who chanted after him: “Kle, kle, kle”.
On Good Friday, Judas bowed down and avoided punishment, but today, on the large Saturday, after walking down the streets of the city he was burned. Thus evil was driven out of the village.
Easter 2025. A Time of Hope and Joy
