Vánoce a Nový Rok

As previously written, the Christmas (Vánoce) season typically begins the last weekend in November, with the lighting of the Christmas trees in the town squares and the start of the Advent/Christmas markets. Depending on the size of the town, these markets can be held for only one weekend, like in Strakonice, or for three full weeks leading up to Christmas, such as in Prague. You've already seen photos from the market in Prague's Old Town Square (See: Holiday Season), but here are some from Prague's Wenceslas Square in the New Town.

In the picture below, you can see a woman in the bottom right holding a sausage. They are pretty popular at fairs and markets in the Czech Republic, but again, the ones in Germany are way better.

Trdelnik, a popular Czech sweet, has a doughy substance with a cinnamon flavor.

Each stall is different, but many contain these glass Christmas balls that are elaborately painted. I bought one for my Christmas tree back home!

Some of the stalls are not holiday oriented, but sell things to keep you warm in the cold.

Some sell wooden toys for children.

Others sell different chocolates and sweets.

The week before Christmas, some friends and I went to Český Krumlov (I'll blog more about this town in my next post) to see their Christmas markets. Generally speaking, the markets are all pretty much the same, but we like to get out and about and view the different atmospheres around the Czech Republic.

Barbara, Harrison, Rosie, Lee, Me

Barbara and Me

Rosie & Lee

On this day, the elementary schools in Český Krumlov were putting on a performance in the town square. We saw interesting skits, dances, and vocal acts from the children.

Baby Jesus Skit

We found this ice sculpture comical. We're not really sure what it was originally supposed to represent, but clearly it started melting at some point. It looks like a baby dinosaur to me.

Naturally, we could not visit a Christmas market without getting a mug of svařák. They give you the option of returning the mug to get 50 korunas back, or keeping it. We all opted to keep the mugs because they were beautiful as well as a keep-sake. As you can see below, Lee was the only smart one who actually held the decorated side of the mug for people to see, so thanks Lee!

Me, Rosie, & Lee

The next step in the Czech holiday season is St. Nicholas Day (See: Mikuláš, Anděl a Čert). Afterward, everyone prepares for Christmas by buying their tree and various presents. However, the Czechs are extremely modest compared to Americans. I would not compare their Christmas trees to Charlie Brown's, but they are roughly medium-sized (from the floor to chest-height). Czechs usually put them up no more than one week before Christmas. As for decorating the tree, the lights are simple and one color. If the tree even has any ornaments, they are only one type. For example, just red balls or just wooden soldiers. Not many Czechs decorate the outside of their flats or homes.

There is no such thing as Santa Claus here, but there is Ježišek, or Little Jesus, which in a way is a Czech version of Santa Claus. Ježišek is an abstract figure with no particular physical image attached to him. Also, no one knows where he lives, but children do write letters to Ježišek and put them on their windows for him to find a few weeks before Christmas. When they wake up the next day, of course Ježišek has come and taken their letters away. 

The main time for celebrating here is December 24th, or Christmas Eve. Many Czechs fast before Christmas Eve dinner. In fact, there is even a superstition that if you fast throughout the day, you may see a vision of the "golden pig" appear on the wall. If you do, this will bring you good luck for the following year. 

The traditional dinner is "Christmas Carp". Actually, my friend was invited to a "Pond Draining Party", which it turns out, is exactly what it sounds like. People from the surrounding villages come to the pond and drink beers and talk as they watch the pond drain. It's a community event that everyone looks forward to as the workers collect the carp (a type of fish) that was raised in the pond. The carp is sold from large tubs in the town squares a few days before Christmas. Some families even keep the carp alive in their bathtub to keep as a "pet" for their children before Christmas! 

The dinner consists of fish soup (made from carp) as an appetizer followed by fried carp and potato salad for the entree. 

Carp Soup

Fried Carp and Potato Salad

While everyone is eating dinner, Ježišek comes through the window and leaves presents underneath the tree. When he is finished, he rings a bell for the family to hear. You see, Ježišek is a baby, so therefore he cannot read a calendar, and accidentally brings the presents a day early each year (on Christmas Eve). When everyone finishes dinner, they open their presents. Then, if the family is religious, they sing Christmas carols and later attend Midnight Mass, or church on Christmas Day. Just as in the United States, many people wind up celebrating the commercialized form of this holiday. People do not understand its religious message, the birth of Jesus and coming of our Savior, and that it is a Christian holiday.

Christmas Eve is generally spent with just the nuclear family (parents and children), then on Christmas Day everyone meets up with their extended families. Czechs also celebrate December 26th, or St. Stephan's Day, but it seems to be a day of rest and relaxation with the family. This year, students had two weeks off from school (as many did in the States) due to the dates of the holidays. Ironically, out of about 200 students, nearly everyone stayed in their own towns with their family and friends. It is not so typical for Czechs to go on vacation as often as Americans do.

The holiday season comes to an end with New Year's Eve/New Year's Day (Nový Rok). Most aspects of this holiday are the same throughout the world. People gather with friends or family to reminisce and reflect on the past year as they ring in the New Year together. Many Czechs either stayed at home or went to a pub or restaurant. There were some specials on television, but no official countdown like there is in New York City. Czechs toast with Champagne at midnight as well. There is one tradition, however, that is different. At midnight, Czechs either watch fireworks or do them themselves, ranging from firecrackers and sparklers to the bigger explosives. This reminded me more of our Independence Day (July 4th) traditions.

Though I was not in the Czech Republic for Christmas and New Years (as I went back to the States for two weeks), I did create a Powerpoint and present about Christmas traditions in the States before I departed. We had great discussions about the similarities and differences between the holiday traditions between Czechs and Americans, which is why I was able to elaborate so much about them here. I think we all found the topic quite interesting!