Christmas Eve in Bohemia
Christmas Eve in Blata
In the Blata villages the day was fasted to see the golden piglet, but the housewife gave everyone a big koláč to take the edge off. At dusk the farmer led the kneeling household in the rosary; then came drobenka — a soup with fish roe — peas, fish in black sauce with raisins and prunes, vdolky with plum butter, and the “pomlázka”: each person’s share of nuts and apples. Whoever found an even number of prunes on their plate would marry that year.
Each farmhand got a white loaf and koláče; lads from far away gave theirs to a cottager woman, who then had to mend their linen for a whole year. The village servant blew his horn under the windows, and boys fired shots all the way to dawn mass to drive the witches off.
Give everyone a small bag of nuts and apples at the table — the Blata “pomlázka”.
More Christmas Eves nearby
- Christmas Eve in the Highlands (Horácko)
- Christmas Eve around Hlinsko (Hlinecko)
- Christmas Eve in Chodsko
- Christmas Eve around Plzeň (Plzeňsko)
- Christmas Eve in the Šumava foothills (Pošumaví)
- Christmas Eve in Prácheňsko
- Christmas Eve in Doudlebsko
- Christmas Eve in Kozácko (Tábor area)
- Czech Christmas Eve, hour by hour