Czech Cristmas

Christmas is coming again, believe it or not.. it feels like yesterday I wrote a post with that title but actually it's one year ago. Most of the presents have been bought already and I realized I need to add a luggage to my ticket, there is no way the presents are going to fit in the cabin bag. Even if they fit, nothing else will. No purse, no passport, no phone. Ho ho ho commercial Christmas to everyone. Maybe Santa will collect the presents and deliver them to my family.

But the topic is Czech Christmas, so let's move on to it. There are a couple of (in my opinion) exotic features in Czech Christmas. The first one is celebrating Saint Nicholas day on 6th of December, a tradition very much present not only in Czech Republic but in Hungary, Slovakia and other countries as well. (Saint Nicholas is the real-life character behind Santa Klaus, a story I had forgotten a long time ago).

In Czech Republic celebrating Saint Nicholas day takes place in the evening of 5th of December. There were some questionable creatures wandering in the streets that evening, namely Saint Nicholas accompanied by the Angel and the Demon. The purpose is to inquire whether or not the kids have been behaving themselves during the past year. Good children are given candy but annoying little brats face a mean punishment. The Demon will put them in his sack and carry them straight to Hell. Personally I don't believe in this because I can clearly hear that the annoying, screaming kid next door is still here. Had I known this I would have offered to be the Devil's henchman and helped to carry the  kid to Hell in my own Ikea bag if need be..

The other thing that surprised me in Czech Christmas tradition is Santa's minor role in it. You see, here it is commonly believed that Baby Jesus will bring the presents, not some fat old man dressed in red and living in the North Pole. This is worth mentioning because outside of Christmas period everybody will tell you that Czech Republic is one of the most atheistic countries of Europe and probably very atheistic even on the international scale. There is a church at every street corner but apparently they stand empty. As one of the articles I read put it, the traditional Abrahamic religious haven't gained popularity here. Despite this Jesus will remember the Czechs during Christmas. Yes.

Totally packed like Moscow subway

The Christmas markets are in full swing right now. Every square has its own fair except our square. hey only made a sad attempt to decorate the square with some lights. On Friday I visited the Christmas market in Old Town, and for sure they have everything you'll ever need on sale there, from candles to very delicious mulled wine, several liters of which I have drunk that I have tasted a couple of times. Christmas markets in Prague are well-known elsewhere in Europe and at least according to voice samples the Finns have also found their way here, both in the markets and it the shopping malls. If you feel like making a short trip before Christmas, Prague might be worth your while. They really invest in the markets. The negative side effect of their wide popularity is that prices see a constant upward trend. For example the price of mulled wine I already mentioned is 20% more expensive compared to the previous year.

Typical Christmas meal consists of carp, schnitzel and potato salad, and you should have at least seven sorts of cookies. This according to a real Czech source. All kinds of Christmas ornaments are being sold but especially mistletoe appeared in the shops some weeks ago. They have been painted gold or silver. I bought the golden one because it was absolutely charming. At least if you can draw any conclusions based on the supply, mistletoe seems a pretty popular Christmas decoration. Now I only have one task left, finding a flower vase for my mistletoe.

Afternoon coffee at Starbucks- my newly acquired mistletoe in the background

As the concluding note let me mention that I went to the International Women's Association of Prague Christmas market and won wine and books on the raffle. Now I just need to find time to collect them from the association's office. Looking forward passing time with the books, hopefully they'll be in English.