Czech Republic Festivals, Habits and Customs

Czech Republic Festivals, Habits and Customs

Easter (Velikonoce): On Easter Monday it is customary for guys to (slightly) spank girls and women with a wicker stick with colourful ribbons at the end (pomlázka), in the hope that the girls and women will in turn give them coloured eggs, candy or drinks. Obvious tourists are often (but not always) exempt.

Witch Burning (Pálení carodejnic) or Night of Witches (Carodejnice): On the last April evening, bonfires are lit around the country. "Witch" figurines, as a symbol of evil, are made and burned in the fire. This is the reinterpretation of the old pagan festival (Beltane) influenced by Christian inquisition. Because probably most Czechs would prefer the witches over the inquisitors, in many fires no witches are burnt, and the feast is celebrated in a more original pagan way - witches are those who should celebrate the night, not be burnt. It doesn't stop jokes like "Honey, hide or you will be burnt tonight!"

Last Ringing (Poslední zvonení) is a traditional celebration of the end of the last year at a high school. It is celebrated usually in late April or early May, a week or more before the final exams (maturita in Czech) take place (the time may be different in different schools). Students get a free day and usually do silly things in silly costumes. They go to the streets and collect money from people passing by, sometimes threatening them with water, writing on their faces with a lipstick or spraying them with perfume. The collected money is used at a party after the exams, or maturita ball.

Feast of St. Mikuláš (St. Nicolaus, Santa Claus), Dec. 5: On this day, St. Mikuláš roams about with his consorts, an angel and a devil. He gives small presents and candy to children to reward them for their good behaviour throughout the year, while the devil chastises children for their wrongdoings over the course of the year and gives them potatoes, coal (or sometimes spankings) as a punishment. Old Town Square in Prague is a great place to watch the festivities.

Christmas (Vánoce): Czechs begin celebrating this holiday on Christmas Eve and continue to celebrate until the 26th (the Feast of Stephen). Presents are placed under a Christmas tree (by Ježíšek (The Baby Jesus) as little children believe) and taken after dinner on Christmas Eve. Potato salad and carp is a traditional Christmas meal, and for this reason one can see live carp being sold out of huge tanks throughout the streets of Czech cities and towns just before Christmas.

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