In Slovakia on Easter men splash women with a bucket of cold water because water is a symbol of purity. Splashing the girls is supposed to keep them pretty, wise, healthy, and pure. Women are also whipped by men with wicker sticks. It is also part of the tradition for women to give men hard-boiled eggs and to tie a ribbon around the top of their whips. These customs are believed to purify the soul and the body; they are the remains of an intricate system of Slovak folk traditions based around the seasons of the year. When the tradition first began it was common to throw women in the town’s river. Now it is more common to throw a bucket of water on women or to spray them with scented water.