Part of the reason we love going on adventures all around the world is to learn more about the ways of life of the local people, and the customs that are different to what we grew up with. It is particularly fascinating to see the different ways people celebrate big events like Christmas, with lots of fun things to get to know in different countries. One of the places with the most fascinating Christmas customs is the Czech Republic, and after spending a lot of time here, we wanted to share these Czech Christmas traditions with you too.
Below you’ll find five unique traditions that will help you get to know the people of Czechia better and prepare you for a fun, festive experience if you travel here in December.
1. Baby Jesus Brings the Gifts
The first thing to know about Czech Christmas traditions is that Santa Claus is nowhere to be found.
Instead, gifts for the children are brought by the baby Jesus, Ježíšek in Czech. Separate from the biblical Jesus figure, Ježíšek has been the popular gift-bringer for over 400 years, making it one of the oldest Czech Christmas customs. He is variously depicted as a baby, a toddler and small child, but the one thing that everyone agrees on is that he is quite mysterious and no one really knows what he looks like.
Despite the Czech Republic having one of the highest percentages of atheists anywhere in the world, baby Jesus is universally popular. Under Communist rule in the 1950s attempts were made to change the focus of Christmas to a Russian Santa-like figure, but these failed utterly and Ježíšek is still the most important figure at Christmas.
Christmas Eve is the main day for celebrating in the Czech Republic, not December 25. After everyone has eaten their fill of the big Christmas dinner in the evening, there is a hasty departure from the table where the adults arrange the presents under the Christmas tree. The children will hear the ringing of a little bell and rush in to try and catch Ježíšek, but of course, he is always too quick so all they find is the gifts under the tree.
2. St Nicholas Visits on December 5
Saint Nicholas does make an appearance during the festive period, but it is not on Christmas Day. On December 5, Czechs celebrate St Nicholas Day, or Mikuláš. Wearing a long white beard, a robe and bishops hat, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by an angel and a demon to help them reward or punish the children as appropriate.
When children are asked if they have been good, they don’t just say yes to get treats, they have to perform something. Usually it’s a little song or a poem maybe, so nothing too extreme, but if they have been naughty, the punishment is a piece of coal or a potato. In folk tradition, the devil was there to take naughty children to hell in a sack, so this can be quite an effective way to enforce good behaviour!
If you’re in Prague on December 5, especially in the area of the Old Town Square and the Christmas market held there, you will see lots of people dressed up as St Nicholas, angels and demons. They have lots of small gifts for the children, and the event is sort of like trick or treating at Halloween in the US.
3. Fasting on Christmas Eve
Another one of the popular Christmas customs in Czechia is to fast on December 24 before the big Christmas Eve dinner. Rooted in the Christian tradition of fasting on feast days, this has become a special Czech thing to do (or attempt anyway) in the run up to the evening meal.
For those who have resisted temptation and not eaten anything, your fast will be rewarded by seeing a golden pig on the wall during the Christmas dinner. This is a sign of good fortune, wealth and prosperity so there are plenty of golden pig designs on cards in the weeks before Christmas, as well as being part of the decorations.
If you visit Prague when the Christmas markets are on, you’ll see lots of small golden pigs for sale. Christmas cookies are also a huge deal here, and for extra good luck you’ll often find pig-shaped cookies and gingerbread on offer.
4. Keeping Carp in the Bathtub
One of the more unusual Czech Christmas traditions is the practise of keeping live carp in the bathtub in the days before Christmas Eve. While it is not as universal as it used to be, it’s not uncommon either.
The reason for the carp being kept in the house is because fish soup followed by fried carp with potato salad is the traditional Czech Christmas dinner. You would purchase your chosen carp in the days before Christmas, but as you’d want the fish to be as fresh as possible, people would keep it in the bathtub as the only place big enough for the fish to live.
Nowadays more people purchase pieces of carp directly rather than deal with a live fish, but you still see the sellers setting up in the streets with their tanks full of carp.
Before you are done with the carp, there is one more important thing to remember – save the fish scales. As another sign of wealth, a few carp scales are placed under each plate at the dinner table and then you put those inside your wallet to encourage financial prosperity for the year ahead.
What Else is on the Czech Christmas Table?
Not everyone likes fish, so instead of fried carp, the alternative is usually pork or chicken schnitzel, or sometimes wine sausages. This is still accompanied by the ever-popular potato salad, for which every family claims to have the best version.
Another traditional dish that is sometimes served for Christmas is kuba, a slow-cooked stew of pearl barley, mushrooms, herbs and garlic. This is simple but the combination on a winters day is absolutely delicious.
For dessert you can reach for a selection of the amazing Czech Christmas cookies, or the special sweet bread called vánočka, which is filled with raisins and nuts and shaped to look like Jesus as a swaddled baby.
5. Fortune Telling For the Year Ahead
Finally, a large part of Christmas Eve is often taken up with the many Czech Christmas traditions that involve some form of fortune telling.
The most important involve the Christmas dinner table. Firstly, even if an odd number of people will be dining, it is usual to set a further place so that there is an even number of settings. Odd numbers were thought to bring bad luck and illness so it’s a superstition that is easy to follow. In addition, once everyone sits down, no one should get up before everyone has finished eating their meal, and as the first person to leave the table will be the first person to die in the next year, everyone should get up together to avoid this happening.
More Fortune-Telling Czech Christmas Traditions
Outside of the meal, there are more ways to predict your future that form part of the traditional Czech Christmas celebrations, including:
- Cut an apple in half and see what you find. If you get five pips which make a sort of star shape when cut, this is good news and everyone present will have a long and healthy life. If you only get four pips, or worse, a worm, it’s not good news sadly.
- For single women, throw a show over your shoulder and towards a door to see if you’ll be getting married soon. If the shoe points toward the doorway, there will be wedding bells in the coming year.
- Gather up some empty walnut shells and prepare a bowl of water. Each person present puts their own little burning candles in them before floating them on the water together and seeing how they move. Sticking together? That indicates strong relationships. One shell floating off alone? That person is likely to travel soon.
Celebrate Christmas in Prague
Interested in experiencing some of these fun Czech Christmas traditions for yourself? Join us on our special festive adventure to Prague and Budapest later this year, where we’ll be getting to know these historic European destinations better. Check out all the details of what we’ll be doing on this adventure here and get in touch if you’d like to know more.
