Vánoce ve Velké Británii a v České republice (Christmas in Great Britain and in the Czech Republic)

Vánoce ve Velké Británii a v České republice (Christmas in Great Britain and in the Czech Republic)

Vánoce ve Velké Británii (Christmas in Great Britain):

• The British are said to be conservative and they are renowned for their politeness and good table manners.
• The English word „gentleman“ means an honour man with good manners
• Christmas seems to be the most important British festival of the year
• Many people travel home on 24th December to be with their families on Christmas Day (25th December)
• Christmas day combines the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ with the traditional festives (= slavnosti) of winter
• On the Sunday before Ch. many churches hold a carol service (bohoslužby, kde se zpívají koledy…)
• Houses tend to be decorated with brightly-coloured paper or holly (cesmína)
• In the corner of the front room, the English usually have their Christmas tree (usually with coloured lights and decorations)

Vánoční tradice (Christmas’s traditions) – České republika a Velká Británie srovnání

• One of the most important traditions connected with Christnas is giving presents; gifts are wrapped up and left at the bottom of the Christamad tree to be found of Christmas morning (the children have to wait until Christmas morning to unwrap their presents X in the Czech republic we unwrap them in the evening).
• December 24 (= Christmas Eve) – is not in the Great Britain celebrated as in the Czech Republic, the English usually spend this day shopping
• Children hang up their Christamas stockings at the end of their beds and believes that Father Christmas (= Santa Claus) will come down the chimney and fill up their stocking with gifts and toys (sometimes Father Christmas put the gifts into a sack or pillow case (povlak na polštář)
• Children usually must wake until their parents wake up (though some parents allow their children to unwrap one present).
• December 25 (Christmas Day)– children unwrap presents, typical of the Christmas Day is the Christmas dinner – roast turkey with chestnut stduffing (s kaštanovou nádivkou), lots of vegetables and roast potatoes, Christmas pudding
• December 26 (Boxing Day) – there used to be the custom of giving milkmen, dustmen, servants… small sums of money into their Ch. boxes
• Note: the eve of St. Nicholas (December 5) is not celebrated as much as in the Czech republic (or to be more concrete, it’s not celebrated at all

Vánočná tradice v České republice (Christmas traditions in the Czech Reoublic)

• we usually decorate the Christmas tree and put a Christmas star or angel on the top (= vrchol)
• some families also give a Christmas wreath (věnec) on the door
• but even before the Christmas starts children make their Christmas wish list, after that parents must hide (schovat) their presents carefully
• many people write Christmas cards to their relatives or loved ones

Christmas meals

British

• stuffed roast turkey with roast potatoes and some other vegetables, Christmas pudding (= an extremely heavy sweet dish made of dried (sušené) fruits)

Czech

• a carp with potato salad with vegetables, fish or beans soup and of course sweets (tady jako cukroví)