Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic the main Christmas meal is dinner on Christmas Eve, and presents are opened that same evening after dinner. The meal starts with rybí polévka, a soup made from the head and trimmings of the carp, followed by smažený kapr, breaded fried carp, served with bramborový salát, a potato salad many families make days ahead. Some households keep older meatless dishes such as kuba, barley baked with dried mushrooms. Before the holiday, live carp are sold from street tanks and some families still keep the fish in the bathtub. Cukroví, small cookies baked through December, and braided vánočka last through the holidays.

The Czech chapter follows the winter calendar from New Year to Shrovetide. Čočka na kyselo, sour lentils with egg and sausage, is the New Year's Day meal, when every lentil is said to stand for a coin. Vepřo knedlo zelo, roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, is the classic meal of Fat Thursday, February 4, and zabijačková polévka was the first soup of the winter home pig slaughter. Česnečka, a garlic soup, hovězí guláš and bramboráky are everyday winter food, while škubánky s mákem, potato dumplings with poppy seed, and povidlové buchty, plum jam buns, make a sweet supper or weekend baking.

The Czech menu begins with Pražská šunka s křenem, thin slices of Prague ham rolled around whipped cream sharpened with fresh horseradish. The main course is Svíčková na smetaně, beef braised with root vegetables in a sweet, sour and creamy sauce, served with bread dumplings and cranberries. Dessert is Svatební koláčky, the small round wedding pastries baked by everyone but the bride, filled with farmer's cheese, poppy seed and strawberries.

The Czech menu follows Holy Week day by day. Škaredá středa, the Wednesday before Easter, March 24, 2027, was the day for trhanec, a torn pancake. On Green Thursday, March 25, custom asked for green food: nettle soup and creamed spinach with egg and potatoes, with jidáše, Judas buns eaten with honey. Holy Saturday brings velikonoční nádivka, a bake of bread, eggs, smoked meat and herbs, and mazanec, the round Easter loaf blessed on Easter Sunday, March 28, when beránek, the lamb-shaped cake, goes on the table. After the Easter Monday caroling, leftover boiled eggs become vajíčková pomazánka, an egg spread.