December 5th is when Czechs celebrate the old tradition of St. Nicholas (Mikuláš). Last year, Jeff and I went to the Old Town Square in the evening and we were surprised to see so much action. Groups consisting of St. Nicholas, the Angel and the Devil (some wearing very impressive costumes) walked around the square, stopping to talk to little children who were there with their parents. The children, awe in their eyes, obediently sang songs and recited shy poems in exchange for sweets and praise. Foreign tourists with curious smiles on their faces and cameras in hand obviously enjoyed being in the midst of this peculiar Czech pre-Christmas tradition. It was all cute and a lot more fun than I had anticipated.
In case you don’t know what the Mikuláš tradition is about, we write about it on My Czech Republic.
Happy Mikuláš!
