Christmas Eve in Bohemia
Christmas Eve in the Elbe lowland (Polabí)
Around Čelákovice in about 1850 the supper was pea soup with fried cubes of vánočka, “kuba s mastnou huba” — groats and mushrooms baked so greasy your lips shone — vdolky with plum butter, curd cheese and cream, then apples and nuts. Around Nový Bydžov the rooster, gander and dog each got a clove of garlic to keep them lively and watchful, and around Mělník children ran barefoot at dawn to tap the fruit trees: “Stromečku, vstávej, ovoce dávej, dnes je štědrý den!”
Try it at home
Tap a tree (or a house plant) on the morning of the 24th and say: “Little tree, wake up, give fruit — today is Christmas Eve!”
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 Blata
- Czech Christmas Eve, hour by hour