When Christmas is mentioned, what’s on your mind? Christmas trees with lights and Christmas ornaments, colourful candles, wreath and nicely packed gifts. Those are on my mind and I’m sure you must think of something similar as well. What makes Christmas feel so different to other days? I would say it’s the decors. If there’s no decoration, there is no Christmas vibe!
Category: Culture
Articles about Czech culture, culture and cultural events in the Czech Republic, or culture of expats and minorities living in the Czech Republic. Basically anything culture-related.
Day 10 of Advent: Hot Wine
Is this your first year to spend Christmas time in the Czech Republic? Or, have you already been at Christmas markets in the country or in other European countries before? If so, you must notice this special drink, Christmas hot wine. It’s like a pop star at every Christmas market. People are drinking and chatting around the place where it is sold so you never miss it.
Day 9 of Advent: 5 Never Disappointing Xmas Gifts
Christmas is just around the corner, shops just reopened meeting the coronavirus countermeasures and so you are probably wondering about the ideal gifts for your loved ones. Don’t forget that Christmas is about coming together with the closest family and having a jolly and amazing time. Gifts are just the extra bonus! Anyway, if you love to give gifts to your friends and family members, let’s take a look at some Christmas gifts ideas that Czech people usually find under the Christmas tree. Maybe you’ll find inspiration here!
Day 8 of Advent: Vanilla Crescents Recipe
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?
Day 7 of Advent: 7 Famous Czech Christmas Fairy-tales and Movies
There are so many different winter traditions around the whole world. But I think most countries have a tradition of watching special movies or fairy tales during this period. Do you know any Czech ones, which are customary to watch at this wonderful time? Here we have prepared for you a list of the most popular movies that you should definitely put on your list this Christmas!
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 5 of Advent: St. Nicholas Day
Countless traditions come with Christmas. Do you know what is the most popular advent holiday in the Czech Republic? Saint Nicholas Day (Svatý Mikuláš) in Czech – the charming tradition of St. Nicholas falls on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 5. It is one of the few originally folk traditions in our country that has survived to this day. Did you know about St. Nicholas?
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 3 of Advent: A Universal Recipe of Linzer Cookies
Linzer Cookies are named after the city of Linz, Austria and making Linzer cookies is definitely one of the most famous Christmas traditions. However, when you are trying to find a recipe online, you will get hundreds of different ones. Some of them are too complicated to gather your strength and start baking, while some of them are so simple that you start to wonder if the result will taste good.
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.