Three Christmas Days

The main three Christmas days are
a) 24th December called in Czech called Štědrý Den which could be translated as „Generous Day“
b) 25th December in Czech called „Boží Hod“ which could be translated as „God's Feast“
c) 26th December in Czech called „Na Štěpána“ which could be translated as „On St Stephen's Day“.

24th December - "Generous Day„ - has probably its name bacause of the wealth of food that has traditionally been served for Christmas dinner. In the morning the Christmas tree is decorated with traditional Czech Christmas ornaments and preparations are made for the most festive evening meal of the year (fried carp and potato salad).
According to one Czech Christmas custom, one is supposed to fast all day to see the "golden piglet".

After dinner, everyone around the table may sing Christmas carols before moving to the Christmas tree, which is all lit up and beautiful. By then, presents have been placed under the tree. Czech children believe that Christmas gifts are brought by Baby Jesus. Of course, it's the parents who manage to put the presents under the tree without being seen by the kids. Sometimes it is an achievement!

Some people end „Štědrý Den“ (24th December) by attending the midnight mass (půlnoční mše) at a local church. The celebration and feasting continue on both 25th and 26th December – people give festive lunches and often invite their relatives or friends for the meal or pay each other visits in the afternoon.

Pre-Christmas Preparations in CR 2

About a week before Christmas all preparations are culminating and it is time
a) to get a Christmas tree (people usually buy a spruce or pine tree at a special Xmas tree market) and
b) to buy a carp (you can buy it live in a special out-door stand and have it for a day or two in water in the bathtub in the bathroom or you can ask the seller to kill the carp for you).

St.Nicolas´s Day

In the Czech Republic it is not Santa Claus who brings presents at Christmas, but Ježíšek (Baby Jesus / Little Jesus). However, on St Nicolas Eve (4th December) in the evening Mikuláš (Nicolas) accompanied by angels and devils visits small children’s homes and brings them small presents, usually sweets, nuts and fruit (especially tangerines are quite popular). If the child has been naughty, they get just raw potatoes and black coal. Or even worse – they can be caught by the devils, put into a big bag and carries away, into the hell.

Every year on this night, the streets are filled with devils rattling chains, St. Nicholases with white cotton beards, long white robes and bishop's staves, and white angels with paper wings, coming to see small children to give them a scare before giving them sweets.

The tradition in our school is that on 4th December, some time in the morning the oldest students of our school (aged 18) are dressed up as St. Nicolas, the angels and the devils and they visit the other classes in their classrooms. They are usually very noisy and they make the other students dirty with coal and red lipsticks. They ask the students to sing a song or say a poem and then they give them a treat.

Pre-Christmas Preparations in CR 1

Christmas is very popular in the Czech Republic. For many people and especially children it is their favourite holiday. As soon as in October the first Christmas shopping windows appear to attract the shoppers.
However, the real Christmas preparations and shopping usually start in the end of November, at about the beginning of Advent.

Before the first Advent Sunday ( four weeks before Christmas) people buy or make the Advent wreath.
On Sunday the whole family usually gets together – often at the midday meal – and they light the first candle.
Very often there is a charity concert in church and in the evening on the Czech TV there is the first (of four) charity programme.

Since about mid November, especially mums are very busy doing all the cleaning in the house and baking special Christmas cookies. They usually bake nine or even more different kinds of them – often following old family recipes. The traditional Xmas cookies include „little vanilla rolls“ or richly decorated „gingerbread cookies“.

When the house or flat is all cleaned, it is time to decorate it. We hang garlands and other decorations on the doors, hang Christmas lights in the windows and put branches of mistletoe and green spruce or fir branches in vases which brings nice forest smell in our homes.

A new tradition is that on the 1st December small children often get an Advent calendar. Most parents just buy a simple calendar made of paper where behind each of the 24 pictures there is a small window with a tiny candy or chocolate. In some magazines or on the Internet you can find instructions how to make your own Advent calendar e.g from wood or fabric.

Christmas by Thomas and Daniel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmzziHLBT08

Ris a la mande

The original name is probably riz à l'amande (French for almond rice), but the Danish call it ris a la mande. Whether it is originally French or the name simply got Frenchified, I don't know, but I do know this is a delicious pudding if correctly made. In some Icelandic households it is served instead of rice pudding (see previous recipe) at Christmas. The first time I tasted ris a la mande, I didn't like it at all. This is perhaps because it was lumpy and the cook had left out the vanilla. I have since made peace with it, and like it just as much as the traditional Icelandic rice pudding.

50 g rice (not quick-cook or instant)

600 ml milk

1/2 vanilla bean

30 g sugar

15 almonds, blanched and slivered or chopped

370 ml heavy cream, whipped

6-7 (12-14 grams) sheets gelatine

Bring the milk to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the rice and vanilla bean and cook up a rice pudding (see previous recipe for method). When the pudding is done, remove the vanilla bean. Add the sugar, almonds and gelatine (prepared as indicated on the packaging). Cool and fold in the whipped cream. Decorate with slivered almonds before serving.

Traditionally served with hot caramel sauce or cherry sauce.

Regards Mads

It's Christmas time

Hello everybody in France and the Czech Republic

We would like to tell about how we celebrate our Christmas Eve.

The 4^th Sundays up to Christmas we get a present and light up a candle in an Advent wreath. Some people also get presents all the first 24 days in December.

In Denmark we celebrate Christmas Eve in the evening. We meet together with our family, and eat Christmas. It can be turkey, roast pork or Cumberland sausage. As accompaniment we get some sauce, white potatoes and sugar-browned potatoes.

For dessert we get ris a la mande. In this        dessert there are two almonds hided and when you find one of the almonds, you get a present.

 When we are finish eating we start dancing around the Christmas tree and sing deferent Christmas songs. Afterward we get our presents, celebrate with our family and eat candy or cookies.

Made by Katrine and Jeppe