After six years of consideration, the Czech Ministry of Education has decided to make Czech language exams more difficult for expats interested in getting a permanent residence permit. This means that instead of passing a level A1 language exam expats will have to prove their knowledge of the Czech language at level A2.
Tag: Czech
Day 21 of Advent: Veselé vánoční hody
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without carols. While many people prefer modern Christmas songs, it’s usually the traditional carols people prefer to sing. After all, they are usually much less difficult to sing as they – at least in most cases – don’t require large vocal range and good singing skills. Not everybody can, for example, manage to sing the main song from Tři oříšky pro Popelku. So it is no wonder that the carol Veselé vánoční hody is one of the most popular ones in the Czech Republic.
Day 19 of Advent: Nesem vám noviny
In the previous articles we wrote about two beautiful Czech carols, both of which have quite an interesting history behind them. But not all carols’ history is known and this is also the case of Nesem vám noviny – a traditional Czech carol whose author is unknown.
Day 17 of Advent: Foretelling the Future
If someone told you that there is a famous poem about Christmas Eve you’d probably think that it must be some warm story about a beautiful snowy Christmas. If that’s the case then I have to disappoint you. The poem “Christmas Eve” (“Štědrý den” in Czech) was written by K. J. Erben, and it’s a dark tale about foretelling the future on Christmas eve. But don’t worry, the actual tradition is much less gloomy.
Day 14 of Advent: Good King Wenceslas
As some of you surely know, “Good King Wenceslas” is a popular British Victorian carol. Whether you have already known this fact or just now learnt about it, you are probably wondering what it has to do with Czech Christmas. Truth be told, this carol is not sung in the Czech Republic, yet there is a significant connection to the country’s history.
Day 12 of Advent: Narodil se Kristus Pán
There are many beautiful Czech carols but only very few of them have such an interesting story behind them as the carol Narodil se Kristus Pán. To be honest, it is usually because most of them are folk carols which means that their (hi)story is difficult to trace. Narodil se Kristus Pán is, however, an exception to this rule. There are actually some facts about this particular song that even Czechs are often completely unaware of.
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 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?
Project Kamenná: Brand New and Irresistible Apartments for Sale in Brno
Living in the center but at the same time having nature at your fingertips is a dream of most of us, especially of people in big cities. And now, this dream is coming true. Luxury, quality and timeless building materials – that’s the Kamenná project. The untraditional complex of apartments for sale in Brno are perfect both for staying and as investment housing mainly for its location just a stone throw away from the city center.