This year we have decided to surprise our degree students LIVE with this tradition in their Czech language for foreigners class. And what is this tradition about?
The charming tradition of St. Nicholas falls on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December 5th. If you find yourself walking the streets on that evening, you may run into a group of strange characters: St. Nicholas (Mikuláš), the Angel (anděl) who represents the Good, and the Devil/Lucifer (čert) representing the Evil. All three characters go from house to house to see the children and ask them if they were good in the past year. Most kids say yes and sing a song or recite a short poem. They are then rewarded with sweets, candy or other treats, which are handed out by the Angel. Bad kids would be put in the Devil’s sack and taken to hell, or would only get a sack of potatoes or coal instead of candy – of course, it does not really happen!
Cookies are small text files in which websites can store information about your activity on the website and user preferences. They are used, for example, to make the browser remember your login, the consent settings in the cookie bar and, with your consent, various marketing and analytical information.
These cookies ensure the basic technical functionality of the website, are necessary for the proper functioning of this website and are always active.
We use third-party tools to track traffic. According to Google Analytics settings, personal data may also be sent.
They store your personal settings, such as the language in which information is displayed, or allow you to offer content tailored to your needs.
We are using third-part marketing cookies and your personal data to show you content customized to what you have viewed on our website. The content can be viewed elsewhere on the Internet. You can disagree with using of our marketing cookies but it will not reduce the extent of advertising offers you see, you will only see more of uninteresting and irrelevant ad to you.