Czech Christmas

Christmas in the Czech Republic is one of the best times of the year.

Czech Christmas

Czechs begin preparing for Christmas early, preferably by the middle of November. Not only are the shops full of people buying gifts for their relatives, but also people buying ingredients for making sweets at home. After all, nothing can make the atmosphere at home cozier than a big bowl of calorie-filled sweets on the table.
Preparations for the Christmas holidays mostly get underway for Czechs with a good house-cleaning. The whole flat or house is cleaned from top to bottom.
From the beginning of December, the attractive aromas of Christmas confectionery begin emanating from Czech kitchens. The more types of sweets on the table during Christmas, the better. The results of all these actions can be seen in extra weight around he middle after the holidays...

Mikulas
In the midst of these holiday preparations, the parents of small children have the holiday of Mikulas (St. Nicholas Day) to look forward to.

So every year on this night, the streets are filled with devils rattling chains, St. Nicholases with white cotton beards, long white robes and bishop's staves, and angels with paper wings, coming to see small children to give them a scare before giving them sweets. Advent also brings with it advent concerts, which are often connected with collections for a charitable cause.


The Christmas Tree
Christmas trees can be bought in most town squares and other open spaces, and every year they get more expensive. Most Czech families keep their trees out on the balcony, where it remains until Christmas Eve.
Once the house is clean, the sweets all baked, the gifts bought, the Christmas cards sent out and the Christmas tree out on the balcony, it's time to get all the right ingredients for Christmas Eve dinner. Carp and potato salad is only a recent addition to the Czech table, and according to studies, is part of Christmas Eve dinner in three quarters of Czech households. The carp-sellers are a common sight on the streets in the wintry weather prior to Christmas, pulling carp out of the tanks of icy water.

Christmas Eve
The most important day of the Czech Christmas celebration, the 24th of December is naturally as idyllic for adults as it is for children, who have a day full of traditional Christmas fare to enjoy.
In the afternoon, the Christmas tree is decorated. The preferred decorations have become natural ornaments - red apples, walnuts, gingerbread,

straw or wooden figures and classical candles.
The Christmas Eve dinner is usually attended by the whole family, including Grandma and Grandpa, as being alone during Christmas is considered one the most painful things there is.
After dinner, it's the moment everyone, big and small, has been waiting for: unwrapping the presents! Before midnight, some people tear themselves away from the television screen and go to church for Christmas Mass. In a lot of churches, Ryba's Czech Christmas Mass is an integral part of the ceremony.

Christmas Day
After Christmas Eve come two more holy days of celebration. On St. Stephen's Day, the 25th of December, people largely pay each other visits, go on walks or just get some well-deserved rest after the strain of all their Christmas preparations. Then they can slowly start to look forward to next Christmas, as they say: "Next year I won't overeat so much. I promise."