On the eve of St. Nicholas Day, the Czechs usher in the Christmas season in some wonderful ways. Many will take their children to the town square and have them meet with Mikulas (St. Nicholas) dressed in his white beard and bishop regalia, an Angel, and Cert (the Devil).
Nope, it is not a Halloween encore but a way for children to be quizzed if they were good or not. Mikulas will ask this tough question to the kids and based on their response, will be either given some sweets for good behavior or a sack of coal or hard potatoes for a "bad year" of mischief. If the fear of hard potatoes does not elicit an attitude adjustment, then maybe the devil threatening to put you in his bag and take you to hell will do the trick;-)
Mikulas will most likely ask the good children to sing him a song or recite a poem of their choice, such as Silent Night.
Tichá noc, svatá noc.
V spánku svém dýchá zem,
půlnoc odbila, město šlo spát,
zdřímli dávno i pastýři stád.......
You will most likely see several of these trios (Mikulas, Angel, and Cert) on the Old Town Square in Prague. Once your kids are done with this ritual, you can grab some mulled wine and browse through the Christmas shopping market. Once home, the kids will find the final surprise....a bountiful collection of fruits, nuts, and sweets on the table. Just a little something from good old St. Nicholas:-)
Throughout the month of December, I will be posting many other Czech Christmas traditions as well as a special Czech Christmas edition of the Bohemican Podcast......stay tuned!!!
Nope, it is not a Halloween encore but a way for children to be quizzed if they were good or not. Mikulas will ask this tough question to the kids and based on their response, will be either given some sweets for good behavior or a sack of coal or hard potatoes for a "bad year" of mischief. If the fear of hard potatoes does not elicit an attitude adjustment, then maybe the devil threatening to put you in his bag and take you to hell will do the trick;-)
Mikulas will most likely ask the good children to sing him a song or recite a poem of their choice, such as Silent Night.
Tichá noc, svatá noc.
V spánku svém dýchá zem,
půlnoc odbila, město šlo spát,
zdřímli dávno i pastýři stád.......
You will most likely see several of these trios (Mikulas, Angel, and Cert) on the Old Town Square in Prague. Once your kids are done with this ritual, you can grab some mulled wine and browse through the Christmas shopping market. Once home, the kids will find the final surprise....a bountiful collection of fruits, nuts, and sweets on the table. Just a little something from good old St. Nicholas:-)
Throughout the month of December, I will be posting many other Czech Christmas traditions as well as a special Czech Christmas edition of the Bohemican Podcast......stay tuned!!!
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