Máj - Some Czech traditions

I hope to go back to London sometime and have a better chance to experience it more. In the meantime, there is more traveling to do here in Prague and around.

Since December, I have experienced some of the most interesting traditions and events here in Czech Republic. The religious festivities and traditions are particularly interesting, more so when taking into account this is not a religious country, in general.

Christmas time, Prague style

Charles Bridge at Na Kampé Malá Strana

Right before Christmas, people gather under the Charles Bridge (Karlův most) in Na Kampé Malá Strana. During the communist times, people started to come to sing Christmas songs here spontaneously, and didn't need a formal form of organization; people just knew what to do and when, and they would find each other at this place to sing. Since then, it has become a very nice tradition that takes place under a bridge that was first built in the mid 1300's.

As they sing, some people walk around with bottles of fernet, slivovice, and hot wine to share. A few others walk around with bowls of cramberries and olives, and others carry bags filled with small wrapped gifts, usually candy or small toys. All meanwhile people sing along, drink, and meet with their family and friends under the bridge. At home, the Christmas tree awaits with way more gifts than most could handle! There can be so many gifts for each person that half of the tree can be covered; and to distribute the gifts can take as long as an hour, maybe more.

St Vitus Cathedral - constructions in 925, 1060, 1344 AD

It is very interesting to see how here in Prague it is common to celebrate festivities with a religious feeling only around Christmas time, in a town known for its heavy Atheist population. Long ago Christian religion was a big part of life, which is clearly evidenced by the dozens of large and very nicely decorated churches from 100's of years ago all over the Czech Republic. St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague is one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings of gothic architecture. It has been constructed and rebuilt three times in 925, 1060, and the current one in 1344 AD.

Communism was a big factor in how Czechs in Prague, and most of the Bohemia region, perceived religion. In those years, religion was suppressed, and after decades of not practicing religion by the older generations, the younger generations now have a tendency to consider themselves Atheists.

Yet, during the last week of December, here in Prague it is common to hear Czechs singing Christmas carols in front of the churches. On the 25th, many go to Mass at the local church and have a regular Catholic service. All other days, churches are very much empty.

Old Town Square - Staroměstské náměstí

Then there are the Christmas markets. I visited the ones in Prague, Bratislava, Krakow, and Budapest, and they all were really cool! Vendors set up stands in the main squares, and sell mostly hand-made crafts. You find everything in here from clay pots, to straw dolls, ceramic bells and angels, and wax decorations. The food and hot alcoholic drinks are also really good, particularly in those unbearable cold nights. It is also nice to see the huge Christmas trees in the middle of the squares full of lights and sparkling stars at the very top; the bright decorations of lights and Angles playing trumpets along the boulevards; the Nativity scenes in the churches; the Christmas carols in the squares.


Christmas beer and the "hunger" flying golden fish

Christmas beer - Depending on the pub you go to, the owners make a special beer for these days. I had this one dark and strong beer at a pub near the Prague Castle.

Ladies and Gents - cloudy (unfiltered) beer in small quantities does wonders to the spirit in a cold night in company of friends and succulent roast pork with dumplings and purple sauerkraut (pečené vepřové s knedlíky a se zelím) I kid you not!

The Golden Fish is a symbol of good fortune. And here is the deal - on Christmas day you are not supposed to eat until dinner when you can have the traditional Carp. Word has it that eventually you will see a flying Golden Carp, and if you catch it, you will have good luck.

I figured - of course you are gonna see flying fish, and very likely other abnormal things happening... it is called hallucination caused by hunger!

By the way, it is not a Golden Fish as a Czech rightly pointed out. It is a Flying Pig... there you have it Ladies and Gents - total hallucination!

Where is Nemo, mami?

Christmas dinner is very nice. To some extent, the experience is comparable to Thanksgiving in the US. Family and friends cook lots of dishes and prepare different drinks, get together around the table and talk and laugh, and in two hours stuff themselves to the neck. It is fun and a really good time to enjoy with those close to you.

Instead of Turkey, they cook fish. Now, this is the only time Czechs really eat fish, in general. Three days before December 25, people buy carp on the street, still alive and swimming in over crawded fish tanks. Then, like with lobster in a fancy restaurant - and sometimes even at a diner in NY - you get to pick the fish. The butcher can prepare it for you, or you can take it home alive and keep it in the bath tub for a couple of days.

If you want it prepared, the butcher puts one his giant rubber globes, takes the fish out of the tank and into his arms, and very quickly hits the fish in the head with a hammer real hard; right there and then skins it, takes all the guts out and cuts it in pieces. Not a pretty scene, let me tell you. The butchering of an animal still alive, the blood on the table and dripping down to the sidewalk and into the drain on the street is still something I cannot get used to, not in Czech, Spain, Vietnam, anywhere.

The other way is to bring home the carp alive, and keep it in the bath tub swimming for a couple of days before killing it. Doing this, I cannot help to imagine little Petr coming home one day and asking - Where is Nemo, mami?....Not cool :/

Even Chuck Norris cannot handle it. Check out this T-Mobile commercial from the Czech Republic. Tough guy, hu!


The only day when whipping girls is legal!

On Easter Monday, very early in the morning, men prepare a whip from a special tree branch, and then walk around town whipping girls along the way. According to the tradition, the harder you hit women, the longer they stay beautiful... and after the beating, women give you in return shots of alcohol or chocolate eggs.... could not believe it! In Prague, men might make the whip, but they are not likely to go around beating girls, or at least strangers. In the country side this is a more common tradition.

We went to the small town of Mnisek, on the south, and it was a good experience. The night before, we hit the only bar in town, and apparently the only formal business too. In the morning, we went out to whip them all, on the street and at their homes - no one was safe! And then, then we realized that almost all the people we met that morning were also at the bar the night before. What do you expect in a town of only 90 people!

Now, the whip is in water, and it is growing some leaves. I might go back to Mnisek and plant it. In that way, after many years I can make more whips from its branches and do it all over again!


A romantic kiss, Prague way!

A little history here. There was this guy, a poet called Karel Hynek Mácha that most Czechs know about. Karel wrote what is today considered one of the best romantic poems in the Czech literature. He wrote the poem  Máj (May) in 1836, and at the time no one thought it was that good. The poem talks about love for the beauty of spring. After writing the poem, he died in a fire trying to save a victim. Many years later after his death, his work was recognized.

Many Czechs celebrate Máj as a romantic love poem in May, as if it was St. Valentine's day, but better - it is not commercialized and people do it spontaneously. When celebrating Máj, couples stand under a tree with flowers and kiss. A cool place to celebrate is Letna, on Letenské Sady. There is a beer garden up there, and the view from Prague is amazing! During the Spring season, there are lots of flowers on the trees... the best excuse to give your sweet heart a special moment.

Burn, Burn!!!

Witch burning is another interesting tradition around Labor Day. And here is the thing, there is no celebration of Labor Day per se - Czechs call it Labor Day but celebrate their version of St Valentine's on day before the witch burning.

On the day before Labor Day, people gather around a fire and burn a doll representing a witch, as in the old old times when this was done to lots of women for real. This tradition is more fun in the country side, cause then friends camp around the fire, share stories while cooking sausages on a stick and drinking beer or Slivovice, a really strong vodka-like drink made of plums. Here in Prague, the city gets ghostly empty, but it is possible to still see some burning in Podolské nábřeží, a really cool place along the river, packed with restaurants, bars, food stands, and a beach!!! Czech Republic doesn't have access to the ocean, but here you can find a Czech beach!


Photo album coming up!