Prague is starting to feel festive! Christmas markets are popping up on every street, and we had our first snow this past week. The Czech Republic celebrates many holidays during the winter. Read along to find out more!
Saint Mikuláš (Nicholas) Day is a famous Czech holiday that takes place on December 5. Saint Mikuláš resembles Santa Claus, both in looks and actions. To celebrate this holiday, community members dress up in costumes (like St. Mikuláš costumes) and walk around the city, interacting with children. They ask kids, “Have you been good or bad this year?” The children, if good, respond with a poem or a song and are gifted candy. If they have been bad, they receive bags of potatoes and coal. It is also a tradition that bad kids are put in the “Devil’s sack” and carried away. Though hard to believe, I talked with a Czech person about this tradition, and they remembered how, in elementary school, people would come into their classroom each year and select a “bad” kid to be put into the sack and carried out. At home, children also receive St. Nicholas presents from their parents and relatives.
