A typical holiday

Christmas is the biggest festival of the year. Families usually come together to celebrate it. People put up decorations and decorate a Christmas tree by candles, chains, Christmas stars or comets, candies and glittering glass trinkets.

In the Czech Republic we open our Christmas presents already on 24 December – in the evening, when the Father Christmas comes and brings them, instead in Britain and the United States they open them on the Christmas Day (25 December). In America their Father Christmas is called Santa Claus and the presents are brought on the sleigh by his reindeers.

In the Czech Republic we eat a traditional meat – a fish soup, carp and potato salad. But you must mind the bones! Lots of people finish their traditional dinner in hospitals. On 25 December we eat usually a duck with special dumplings and cabbage. Some families eat turkey or smoked meat, too.

In Britain they eat a traditional meal of turkey with vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding. They don´t have such good sweets and cookies as we do. We love also the Czech Christmas cake made by our grandmothers. It´s so delicious!!!

We try to preserve many folk-memories and traditions. Such as pouring lead, cutting of an apple, throwing of a slipper, crocking of nutshells and of course singing of Christmas carols at home and also at midnight in church – at the midnight mass.

We all love Christmas, this beautiful atmosphere, mainly when the city is covered by snow and the snowflakes are all around! It´s a mysterious time full of secrets and wishes that come true.

I wish all you Happy New Year 2007!

cabbage = zelí
candle = svíčka
carol = koleda
carp = kapr
come together = sejít se
crocking of nutshells = pouštění skořápek
decorate = zdobit
decorations = ozdoby
duck = kachna
dumplings = knedlíky
Father Christmas = Ježíšek
folk-memory = lidová tradice
glass trinket = skleněná ozdoba
glittering = třpytivý
chain = řetěz
Christmas cake = vánočka
Christmas pudding = vánoční pudink
midnight mass = půlnoční mše
mind the bones = davit pozor na kosti
potato salad = bramborový salad
pouring lead = lití ocele
preserve = zachovat, uchovat
put up = davit, strojit
reindeer = sob
secret = tajemství
sleigh = sáně
smoked meat = uzené maso
snowflake = sněhová vločka
throwing of a slipper = házení bačkorou
tradition = tradice, zvyk
turkey = krocan, krůta
wish come true = přání se splní

Foto: Jíra