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Christmas Market
Illuminated streets and squares, the hustle and bustle of Christmas markets and the omnipresent sound of carols demonstrate to even the least enthusiastic supporter of national holidays that Christmas in the Czech Republic is one of the most beautiful times of the year. It’s a time when museums of all kinds as well as people in their own homes observe age-old traditions. Admiring an advent scene or listening to a concert in a church, a chateau or on a square are just some of these customs.
Unique gifts and holiday atmosphere
Prague’s Christmas markets are some of the best known in Europe. This year they will begin with the switching on of the Christmas tree lights on November 29. Tens of stalls will appear on the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square where you will be able to buy Christmas decorations, corn doll tree decorations, yuletide straw figures, beautifully decorated gingerbread, fragrant candles and warm scarves and hats.
Even if you don’t choose any presents, you certainly won’t be able to resist the refreshments on offer. Hot punch, aromatic mead, roast chestnuts and corn on the cob, old Bohemian baked ‘trdlo’ (a funny-sounding word in Czech) and grilled sausages are a well-deserved reward for enduring the yuletide crowds.
Beneath the illuminated Christmas tree on the Old Town Square you will discover a live nativity scene complete with a baby Jesus and assorted animals (a donkey, goats and sheep) which is constantly surrounded by groups of kids. Choirs and children’s performances can be watched on the stage.
Smaller Christmas markets will take place in December on Míru Square, Republic Square, the Exhibition Grounds in Holešovice and on Kampa Island. You’ll find slightly more fashionable items in boutiques on Na Příkopech and Pařížská Street, the best known shopping thoroughfares in the capital. Czechs love to shop and often head off to large out-of-town shopping centres to buy gifts.
Yuletide and Advent music
Czech music is one of the world’s most valued pieces of cultural heritage. There’s no better present for fans than special concerts of Christmas and Advent music. These often include the Czech Christmas mass, Hej mistre, vstan bystre, which was composed at the end of the 18th century by Jakub Jan Ryba.
The State Opera in Prague will hold its traditional Christmas concerts on December or you will be able to attend organ concerts with Christmas motifs in the Basilica of St. James in Prague’s Old Town. The popularity of Advent and Christmas music is confirmed by a number of yuletide-themed festivals as well.
Time for telling the future
Christmas Eve is an important Christian festival, but it is also a day when people say magic can be done. There are various simple ways to find out if this is true. A fish scale placed under your plate during the Christmas Eve dinner is said to bring wealth and happiness in the coming year. If you fast all day until the evening, you should also see another symbol of happiness, a golden pig. After a belt-busting meal it’s good time to try to foretell the future. Cut open an apple, and if the pips are in the shape of a perfect star, you will enjoy wealth and good health in the coming year. Finding four healthy walnuts in their shells is also said to bring sound health. Pouring molten lead into water then reading the shapes it forms is fun for the children, and throwing a slipper over the shoulder is of interest to girls and women who want to know if they are destined to be married in the coming year.
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