Advent Advent – four weeks before Christmas During Advent we light one candle each Sunday. We bake candies and gingerbreads.
Christmas Christmas Day 24 th December We eat Christmas cake for the breakfast.
We decorate Christmas tree with Christmas decorations, angels, bells, sweets, chains and stars.
We put presents under the tree. We cook Christmas dinner. In the Czech republic the typical dinner is potato salad and fried carp. During the day we fast. (We don’t eat during Christmas day in order to see the „golden pig let “.)
Christmas Eve We eat Christmas dinner. We ring bell and we wait for Jesus.
When we hear the bell ringing we go to the Christmas tree and we unpack presents. We sing Christmas carols. Christians put Nativ ity scenes under the Christmas tree and they go to the church for the Midnight Mass.
Christmas customs in the Czech republic We float walnut shelves with candles.
We cut an apple and if we find a star in it, it means a good luck in the new year.
Girls throw slippers, in order to discover if they will marry.
We kiss each other under mistletoe.
25 th and 26 th December We visit all our relatives. We wish Merry Christmas to the whole family and we give them presents.
New Year’s Eve – 31 st December We bang firecrackers and fireworks. We celebrate coming of the New year, we have parties with our friends. 1 st January – New Year’s day - we have national holiday.