Christmas in Prague

The city of Prague does a lot for Christmas.  The Christmas markets here rank in the top five around the world.  It was fun to go down to the markets, try all of the food, and see what everyone was selling.  The Christmas trees and lights around Old Town Square were absolutely amazing.

My brother Seth asked me how Czech Christmas was different than American Christmas.  Not an easy thing to sum up in a facebook conversation, so I will flush a few things out here in my blog.  Now keep in mind these are not all of the differences, but these are the ones that I either noticed or took part in myself. 

The Day

The major gathering day for Czechs is actually Christmas Eve.  This is when people gather to have their meal, open presents, and enjoy most of the Christmas traditions.

The Food

The traditional Czech Christmas Eve meal is a first round of soup, followed by a main course of fried carp and potato salad.  The carp is a longstanding tradition.  Often, families will buy their carp some days or weeks in advance and keep it in their bathtubs until it is time to dispatch it for dinner.  Carp vendors begin to pop up about the second week of December selling fish out of large pools (think kiddie pools with deeper sides).  You can either take your fish home and put it in the tub, or the vendor can butcher and scale it for you on the spot. 

If you put a scale from the fish under your dinner plate, then put it in your wallet, supposedly you will have good fortune in the next year. 

Santa

They do have a Santa looking character that comes out in December.  His name is Mikulas (St. Nicolas).  He appears on the eve of December 6, which happens to be St. Nicolas day on the calendar, with Andel (angel) and Cert (little devil).  This trio makes the rounds to various houses.  Good kids will recite poems and songs for the trio.  Kids receive little gifts and sweets if they have been good or coal or a raw potato if they have been bad.  While gift giving is involved, as well as a Santa looking figure (actually should be reversed, Santa is a Mikulas looking figure), there is no connection with the Christmas holiday.

So who delivers the presents on Christmas?  That would be Ježíšek, or baby Jesus.  No one knows what Ježíšek looks like because no one has ever actually seen him.  He arrives usually after dinner on Christmas Eve to deliver the presents.  The kids are usually otherwise occupied elsewhere in the house (depending on the ruse employed by Ježíšek’s accomplices, the parents).  Once the drop has been made Ježíšek rings a bell hanging on the tree and leaves. 

I was lucky enough to spend Christmas Eve with the family of one of my players.  I was able to take part in the traditional meal (cod instead of carp) and see “Ježíšek” in action.  The parents tried their hardest to get their 3½ year old to leave the room but he was not having any of it.  He knew once he left, Ježíšek would do his business and their son wanted to see it happen.  Eventually, they got him to leave, Ježíšek delivered the toys, rung the bell, and presents were opened. 

I spent Christmas day with Billy, my director, and his family for a more traditional American Christmas.  Billy’s kids are always entertaining to be around and he and Adrianne, his wife, made an amazing meal. 

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas with your family and friends.  I pray that God blesses you in this new year!