Czech celebrations and holidays

St. Nicholas, Angel and devils

On the eve of 5th December, you will meet a strange trio -Nicholas, the Angel and the Devil 

All three characters walk the streets, stopping children and asking them if they were good in the past year.

Children are often terrified of the the Čert because bad kids would be put into his sack and taken to hell. After singing a song or reciting poem to the trio, they are rewarded with sweets handed out by the Angel. 

Christmas

Celebrated in the evening of 24th of DecemberThe gifts are brought by JežíšekTraditional dinner: fish soup, fried carp or chicken, potato saladChristmas cookies- the tradition says you should have at least 7 typesLegend- fast all day and you will see the golden pigA lot of people attend the traditional Midnight mass

The Christmas dinner

Traditional Christmas cookies

Carols

Traditionally sung by children and adults during the whole of advent

Masopust

The date varies anywhere between the start of the new year and the start of the 40 day fast before Easter Everyone wears a mask Everyone joins the parade and goes from house to house, where men recive a shot of “pálenka”(traditional czech homemade alcohol) and women recieve a doughnutEvery parade has to include these outfits – a bride and groom, a bear and a horse

EasterTraditional Easter egg paintingTraditional baking (mazanec, beránek, nádivka) On Easter Monday the men should go and beat the women with a “pomlázka” so they stay healthy and beautiful for the whole year and as a thank you they recieve a painted egg and a shot of alcoholIn some villages the women are thrown into water instead of being beaten The men should also sing a traditional Easter carol before recieving their painted egg

Pomlázka

Traditional food

Mazanec Beránek

Painted eggs

Čarodějnice

Celebrated on the night of 30th April

Čarodějnice = witches

People believed the witches are stronger than usual on that night so they made big fires on hills to scare them away

Dušičky

Celebrated on 1st and 2nd November

1st of November - Day of all the saints

2nd November - Remembering the deceased

You should visit the graves of ancestors and loved ones and light a candle for them, the graves should be decorated with flowers