Christmas customs in Czechia

Christmas customs in Czechia

Christmas tree

A decorated Christmas tree, under which children find presents on Christmas Eve, is probably in every Czech household. It is usually a conifer – spruce, pine or fir, which is hung with decorations in various colors and Christmas lights. However, this tradition is not that old. It only became widespread in the Czech lands in the 19th century.

Fresh live carps are sold in the streets a few days before Christmas

Christmas Eve Dinner

On Christmas Eve – that is, on the evening of December 24th after dark – people sit down to a festive Christmas Eve dinner. Before the church enforced Lenten meals, it traditionally included meat, then mainly savory or sweet porridges made from cereals or legumes, mushrooms, fruit soups, or ceremonial and other pastries. The table was always decorated with Christmas cookies and beer was the main drink.

A festive dinner also has its own rules – you set the table for an extra person, for an unexpected guest, and you don't get up from the table until everyone has finished eating. According to superstition, anyone who gets up during dinner will not be able to sit at the table with the others next year.

On Christmas Eve, a carp scale is placed under the plate during dinner. The fish scale is said to bring money and abundance. The Christmas carp scale should then be carried in the wallet for plenty of money in the coming year.

Apple slicing

After Christmas Eve dinner, it's time to cut the apple. Take a knife and cut the apple crosswise. If you find a star inside the cut apple, you will be healthy and happy in the coming year, a cross or a worm means illness or death.

Candy

One of the most popular Christmas traditions is baking candy. This tradition is not that old either, the little pieces of candy only started appearing in the 19th century.

Christmas cake (vánočka, Vánoce = Christmas)

On the other hand, the traditional symbols and dishes of Czech Christmas include the Christmas cake. It was also called štědrovka, pletenice and calta, and the first reports of it date back to the Middle Ages. At first, it was baked by bakers, and home production only became popular in the 18th century. Its shape resembles the baby Jesus in a swaddling cloth – a decorative belt used to tie a blanket with an infant. Sometimes a coin was baked into it, and whoever found it had good luck for the next year.

Midnight Mass

People often attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve. It is the first of three masses of Christmas Eve, the day that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. However, according to Christian-Jewish tradition, the day begins in the evening, so the first mass can be held any time after dark on December 24. Therefore, “midnight” masses can begin as early as 10 p.m.

There are many other Christmas customs, but most of them are no longer followed. One of them is the tradition of nativity scenes, but that is a whole separate chapter.

MERRY  CHRISTMAS !

                                                       Margaret