There are many popular Christmas pastries, desserts, and sweets to chose from when celebrating Christmas in the Czech Republic. One of them is Vanilla Crescents, vanilkové rohlíčky in Czech. When baked well, they basically melt in your mouth – almost like a piece of cloud. But to bake them to be this perfect is quite tricky. So what does one have to do to achieve that level of perfection?
Author: Anna Minjaríková
Hello, readers! My job is to provide you with some interesting tips and useful information about all the things Czech. ♫ I'll be there for you! ♫
Day 6 of Advent: Chtíc, aby spal
Carols are an essential part of Christmas and there are some which are popular in every country where Christmas is celebrated. Everyone knows, for example, Silent Night or Jingle Bells. However, different countries also have their own popular carols that are sung along with these two and the Czech Republic is no exception. One of the most popular ones is Chtíc, aby spal – a baroque carol composed by Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic and this year you can sing it with us!
Day 4 of Advent: St. Barbara’s Day
Christmas is supposed to be the part of the year when people spend time with their families and loved ones. But what about those people who are alone? What are they supposed to do? Lie in bed wearing festive pajamas the whole day and munch on some sweets and junk food while watching Netflix; basically giving up on their life? Well, it’s a solution too, however, there is something else they can do. It won’t change the person’s dire situation but it will at least help them find out if the next year will be better. And for some of us, that’s definitely something! But what does it have to do with st. Barbara’s day?
Day 2 of Advent: Advent Wreath
Christmas wreaths are a common part of Christmas celebrations in most countries, but do you know what each of the four candles symbolizes? Can there actually be more than four candles? Where did this tradition come from? Or how you can make your own advent wreath? Don’t worry, all of these questions will be answered in this article.
Coronavirus in Czechia: More COVID-19 Restrictions to Be Loosened on Thursday
On Thursday, December 3 more of the COVID-19 restrictions will be released in accordance with the PES system as decided by the Czech government on Sunday, November 29. Possibly the biggest changes relate to opening stores and restaurants, though the limit on the number of people at stores remains in place. At the same time, the Minister of Health suggested another extension of the state of emergency.
Coronavirus in Czechia: State of Emergency Extended until December 12
The Czech government decided to extend the state of emergency up until December 12. The state of emergency was already extended on October 30 until November 20 to continue reducing the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading. At the same time, the government approved releasing some of the previously introduced restrictions.
Coronavirus in Czechia: Limits on the Number of People in Stores
From Wednesday, November 18, the government introduced a limit on the number of people present in stores at the same time to further decrease the number of new COVID-19 cases. This was decided by the government on Monday, November 16, after photos of stores like Lidl being packed with people started circulating on social media. At the same time, opening hours of stores were extended to 9:00 PM so everyone would be able to do their grocery shopping.
Coronavirus in Czechia: Releasing Restrictions in Accordance with PES System
The Czech government has introduced a so-called PES system (“Protiepidemický systém” for long and also “dog” in Czech) – a guide for releasing the restrictions introduced to combat the coronavirus pandemic. This plan uses five different levels and a score ranging from 1 to 100 to describe the current epidemiological situation in Czechia. In accordance with the levels and the score, the current restrictions will be either released or – if the situation starts getting worse again – tightened.
Coronavirus in Czechia: New EU-wide Restrictions on Travelling
On Monday, November 9, new restrictions on travelling to the country came into effect. The Czech Republic has thus joined other EU countries that have also introduced the so-called Coronavirus Traffic Light System mapping the epidemiological situation in the European Union. All EU countries are marked orange, majority of them are, however, marked red.
Oko! More Than Traditional Magazine
Recently, as a result of a new cooperation established with Oko! Magazine, we went to talk with its co-founder Claire Dognini, a British expat, to learn more about her and her successful magazine which is available online, as well as in a paper form that is distributed in Prague.