Experience Czech Advent: Simple Traditions, Big Moments

This is your quick guide to Czech Advent—a cheat sheet for how this festive season is split up, the traditions that make it special, and how to count down to Christmas the Czech way!

Download Czech Advent Plan as a PDF file

🎄 First Advent Sunday: Železná neděle (Iron Sunday)

Czech Advent begins at the turn of November and December, with the exact date varying each year. It always starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25th.

• Start buying or crafting gifts (vánoční dárky) for your loved ones.
• Create your Christmas menu (vánoční menu).
• Transform your home with festive decorations (vánoční výzdoba).
• Open the first door on your Advent calendar (adventní kalendář).
• Light the first candle on your Advent wreath (adventní věnec).

🌸 December 4: St. Barbora's Day

• Cut branches from a cherry tree (barborky) and place them in a vase.

🎅 December 5: St. Nicholas (Mikuláš) Day Eve

• Prepare a St. Nicholas gift bag (Mikulášská nadílka) for the children.
• Teach the kids a poem (básnička) or song (písnička) to recite for St. Nicholas.
• Write a heartwarming “letter from St. Nicholas” (dopis od Mikuláše) for your children.

🕯️ Second Advent Sunday: Bronzová neděle (Bronze Sunday)

• Bake gingerbread cookies (perníčky), filling your home with holiday scents.
• Make walnut-shell candles (svíčky z ořechových skořápek).
• Encourage the little ones to write their letters to Czech Ježíšek (dopis pro Ježíška). Place the letters outside the window.
• Light the second candle on your Advent wreath.

✨ December 13: St. Lucie's Day

• Give your house a good clean! St. Lucie will come with her white feather to check for any dust you might have missed!

🍪 Third Advent Sunday: Stříbrná neděle (Silver Sunday)

• Bake Linzer cookies (linecké cukroví), vanilla crescents (vanilkové rohlíčky), and other festive treats that need time to rest.
• Visit a Christmas market (vánoční trhy) to soak in the magic of the season.
• Send Christmas cards (pohlednice) to friends and family.
• Spread kindness by donating to charity or decluttering and giving unwanted items a second life.
• Light the third candle on your Advent wreath.

🌟 Fourth Advent Sunday: Zlatá neděle (Golden Sunday)

• Create no-bake treats like beehive cookies (včelí úly) or rum balls (rumové kuličky).
• Fill your baked cookies with delicious creams.
• Find the bell (zvoneček) for Ježíšek to ring.
• Reflect and honor the memory of loved ones who are no longer with you.
• Light the fourth candle on your Advent wreath.

🎂 December 23: The day before Christmas Eve

• Bake a Vánočka (Houska), apple strudel (jablečný štrúdl), or poppy seed roll (makový závin).
• Prepare the potato salad (bramborový salát) for tomorrow's dinner.
• Set out a platter of cukroví cookies to welcome Christmas cheer.

🎁 December 24: Christmas Eve

• Check if your cherry branches (barborky) have bloomed for a sign of luck!
• Hang mistletoe (jmelí) for blessings over the dining table.
• Observe the tradition of fasting until the first evening star appears and see the golden pig (zlaté prasátko).
• Share a festive Christmas Eve dinner (štědrovečerní večeře) with your family.
• Unwrap gifts (vánoční dárky) and savor the joy.
• Sing carols (koledy) and watch the new Czech Christmas story (vánoční pohádka) together as a family.
• Practice old customs: slice open an apple or pour molten lead into water to predict the year ahead.
• End the day with a festive midnight mass by Jan Jakub Ryba at church.

🕊️ December 25: Christmas Day

• Visit a Nativity scene (betlém) and marvel at its beauty.
• Light a František (incense) and sparklers to celebrate the day.

Let these Czech traditions guide you through a Christmas season, filling your home and heart with love, joy, and unforgettable memories!