Once again, after a year, we are slowly approaching the most beautiful time of the year. The time when we gather with our families, get some lovely “surprising” pair of socks, and when we usually eat tons of sweets. Yes, the talk is about Christmas! And because of it, we thought about giving you an outline about how we celebrate them. It might be similar or identical to your country or it can be completely different!
(Source: www.pulainfo.hr)
So what does our Christmas in Czech looks like?
Our advent starts at the end of November and ends on Christmas Eve (24th of December).
Christmas holidays dates are:
24th of December (Christmas Eve)
25th of December (Christmas Day)
26th of December (Saint Stephen Day)
Everything is closed on those days, they are not standard working days.
(Source: drevenevanoce.cz)
Christmas Eve
Mostly you spend your day eating traditional Christmas Sweets (called Vánoční Cukroví) watching classic Czech fairy tales. In those three Christmas Days you usually gather with your family, visit your family or get visited by your family members. Among fairy tales was very popular listening to or even singing Christmas Carols – and some of them are still sang even abroad – for example about Good King Wenceslas (Czech historical leader who is now known as Svatý Václav) as Sheldon Cooper can witness himself.
Slowly starting at 4 PM and latest until 7 PM, we eat our Christmas Dinner usually with Christmas Carols in background and then comes the time to unwrap our gifts.
25th of December, the Christmas Day – is usually considered a day of rest and again mostly time to be with your close family.
On 26th of December, Saint Stephen Day took place various popular celebrations that joined by many people every year. It is also time when many people visit their other family members with which they have not be in previous days.
In old days it was when young children went carrolling to get some sweets and in medieval times it was also a day when the farm workers could without punishment change their employer and start their only free week in a year, until the New Year, when they started to work for a new master. From that times come a traditional Czech sentence: “Na Štěpána, není pána.” (There is no Master on St. Stephen´s Day).
At present day, traditionally girls or women also wake up, in merry mood, their male family members by pouring cold water or snow on their faces (in opposite it can be done on Easter Monday, when boys or men can do the same to the female members of the family)… Well, it is a tradition – so Merry Christmas 😉
Decorations
Our Christmas colours are usually red and green, but presently it is a matter of the choice. You can also go for blue and silver, or white and golden themes. Typical decorations are Advent Wreaths, Christmas Wreaths, Parterres and boxes.
Czech Republic also like Germany and Austria does not celebrate Santa Claus but Jesus Christ and instead has a diminutive of Jesus Christ’s name Ježíšek (baby Jesus in Bethlehem).
(Source: milujivanoce.cz)
Christmas Market
We also, as other surrounding countries, have and enjoy our Christmas Markets, which are still very popular. However, still not as for example in Austria or Germany, to whom it is not Christmas without it.
Size of the market, it’s properties and visualization definitely depend on the city/village. Some villages or cities might not even held the market, but a majority of them does. Our capital city Prague indeed does have one gigantic Christmas Market to your liking.
(Source: jenprocestovatele.cz)
Dining
There is a myth, which has been in our country since Middle Ages that if, you don’t eat meat for the whole day until Christmas dinner, you’ll see a gold pig. It is sometimes referred as Christmas fasting. Typical Czech Christmas Dinner is composed of two courses.
The first meal is typically fish soup or peas soup, the second main meal is carp fish or schnitzel with potato salad.
(Source: ceskazceska.cz)
Sources of Pictures:
jenprocestovatele.cz/vanocni-trhy-v-cesku-kdy-a-kam-vyrazit-na-ty-nejkrasnejsi/
milujivanoce.cz/cs/temata/show/betlemy/37-vanocni-betlemy/
ceskazceska.cz/stedrovecerni-vecere/
drevenevanoce.cz/vanoce/7-duvodu-proc-uprednostnit-zivy-vanocni-stromecek-pred-umelym/
pulainfo.hr/de/event/weihnachtskonzert-blasorchester-der-stadt-pula-istrisches-nationaltheater-20-uhr/christmas-2
