Christmas market at the central square (image courtesy of Brno Cultural Center)

Christmas market was opened on the main Brno square on Friday, November 26. Visitors may find small presents, hand-made ceramics, natural cosmetics, bee products, products made by woodcarvers as well as other traditional handicraft.

There are many options to taste various culinary specialities and hot drinks to warm you up.

Enjoyable Christmas atmosphere is co-created by a rich cultural program. You can enjoy performances by both amateur and professional musicians and dancers on the stage in the mornings as well as afternoons. The main concert starts at 4 p.m. every day; you can listen to music of various genres, from folk through jazz to big beat.

Families with children will appreciate a small zoo corner with a live donkey and sheep or the largest Nativity scene ever seen in Brno. You can count 67 large wood-carved figures.

Visitors may enjoy a non-traditional souvenir on Brno Square of Freedom thanks to its new clock. The clockwork usually lets out a small glass ball onto which the city sign is ground at 11 a.m. every day; the ball can be caught by anyone who wishes to. During the Advent time, the clockwork will release special balls with Christmas motifs every whole hour from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The market at the central square is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and will last to December 23. But the square will not get empty after that. Some refreshment stalls will be opened till January 1 and will provide drinks and meals during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

For more see www.brnenskevanoce.cz (Czech only).

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Prepare for loud groups of devils (known as krampuses in Austria) and angels, led by St. Nicholas(es), on the night of Monday, December 6. One of the most beautiful Czech traditions – masked people giving candies to good kids – takes place on the same day like every year.

In highly Catholic regions, the local priest was informed by the parents about their children’s behaviour and would then personally visit the homes in the traditional Christian garment and threaten to beat them with a rod. In parts of Austria, Krampusse, who local tradition says are Nikolaus’s helpers (in reality, typically children of poor families), roamed the streets during the festival. They wore masks and dragged chains behind them. These Krampusläufe (Krampus runs) still exist.

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia Mikuláš, in Poland Mikołaj and in Ukraine Svyatyi Mykolay is often also accompanied by an angel (anděl/anioł/anhel) who acts as a counterweight to the ominous devil or Knecht Ruprecht (čert/czart). Additionally, in Poland children find the candy and small gifts under the pillow or in their shoes the evening of 5 December. In Ukraine this tradition is celebrated on 19 December.

Source: Wikipedia

Sounds like a good reason for a party

If you prefer a shot of vodka to a candy but still want to enjoy the St. Nicholas tradition, then there are several parties for you this week.

On Wednesday, December 1, the 5th “Student party” will take place in Semilasso club (126 Palackého třída st.). People dressed as st. Nicolas, an angel or a devil will get a free entrace!

On Saturday, you may enjoy “crazy St. Nicholas party” with a travesti show in gay club Red Cat (25 Masarykova st.) and on the same day, there is a party at Tabarín (3 Divadelní st.).

Roast goose (source: Wikimedia Commons)

For hundreds of years, geese are being killed and roasted on this day – and then served with dumplings and cabbage. You can get this delicious meal in many restaurants in Brno until Sunday.

Few years ago, wine makers started to market their young wines as “St. Martin’s wines” (“svatomartinské víno”) – you can buy them in many shops around the region since November 11, 11 a.m. The Beaujolais nouveau influence is pretty obvious, but who would care? Carpe diem!

A juvenile king, holding a rose by his lips (photo by Jialiang Gao)

On Sunday, May 30, young people in folk costumes will walk through the town, accompanying a “king” – 12 years old boy, dressed as a girl, sitting on a horse. The marching squad cries: “Harken, ye highlanders, lowlanders, home lads and strangers, to what I shall tell you on the Pentecost. Our king is honourable, yet very poor.” It is a splendid sight.

The origin of this tradition is unknown, however it takes place every year at least since the 18th century. It is going to be marked as a Masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO.

The “show” starts at 9 a.m. in the centre of Vlčnov, tickets costs CZK 100 (€4). There is a handy website with further information at vlcnov.cz.

Walpurgis night (source: Wikimedia Commons)

The tradition of lighting bonfires and throwing straw witches into the fire on the Walpurgis night is very common in the Czech republic, especially among students.

If you want to take a part in the old pagan feast, you may take your kids to hotel Santon in Brno Bystrc on Friday, 5 p.m. I was there last year and it was a nice event, with free admission, live music and many families with happy kids.

Every year, students light bonfires at Palackého vrch. Bring your own beer and have some fun.

Čarodějáles

Annual music festival Čarodějáles (“Witchfest”) is held on Friday at open air pool Riviéra. For CZK 250, you may listen to famous bands Sunshine, Charlie Straight, I Am Ghost (USA), Lower Than Atlantis (UK), Eyes Set to Kill (USA) and many other Czech musicians. The gates open before 2 p.m.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

As usualy, first bottles of this year’s wine come to market on St. Martin’s Day – Wednesday, November 11.

Although the tradition of tasting the young wine on this day begun in the 18th century, it had been almost forgotten before Moravian winemakers decided to use it as a smart marketing event in the 2000s.

This year, 211 wines were good enough to receive the exclusive mark “Svatomartinské víno”.

Where to get the wine

If you want to taste St. Martin’s Wine, come to the Náměstí Svobody sq. on Wednesday afternoon. Bottles can be bought in wine shops in the whole country (a list of sure-fire shops to go to at southern Moravia) as well as in many cafés and some supermarkets.

I recommend to combine the young wine with roasted goose, cabbage and dumplings.

Pickled gherkins are the first thing that a stereotypical Moravian guy sees every morning, to fight with his hangover. Photo by hriskenworthy

I got upset, once again. An incoming agency CzechTourism has a nice website about cuisines of Czech and Moravian regions, but the information about southern Moravia is totally misleading. Trouts are eaten much more at south Bohemia and “lentil and millet bake” is a weird food that is eaten in Bible, but not anywhere around Brno. No food that is really enjoyed in Brno and at south Moravia is listed there. So – let’s fix it!

The true southern Moravian specials are:

• Roast goose. Fat & yummy.
• Pork knee. By the way, I have a friend in Korea who once told me that Moravian (and Czech) cuisine is quite similar to the Korean cuisine.
• Roasted pork (“Moravian sparrow”) with stewed cabbage and dumplings.
• Various dishes with savoy cabbage – like baked rabbit meat. I hate savoy cabbage. But it makes a list of ten.
• Sweet noodles with poppy seed. However, you won’t get these in a Moravian restaurant. You need to have a Moravian grandma. What a shame for Moravia!
• Pies with sweet cottage cheese and plum jam.
• Halušky, soft cooked noodles or dumplings.
• Pickled gherkins (the best hangover cure ever; you’ll get it in any store, no matter how small it is).
• Wine.
• Apricot brandy (I think that slivovitz is number 2 brandy at south Moravia).

I found some web pages with moravian recipes written in English here and there.

For many people living in Moravia, Easter is more important feast than Christmas. There have been some nice customs – so why dont you celebrate Easter in the local way?

Eat something green and delicious

According to an old tradition, people should eat something green on the “Maundy Thursday”. It can be spinach, nettle, salad or anything else.

If you want to taste a fresh Easter menu prepared by a good cook, try restaurants Brabander or Rialto or hotel Voroněž.

Try a glass of green beer

Starobrno brewery has a short but successful tradition of preparing a special, herb-colored green beer that is draught only on the Maundy Thursday. You can find the list of pubs serving green beer on a special microsite. Remember that the beer was gone around noon last year!

Experience old Moravian traditions in Vlčnov

If you want to see some folklore, girls and boys dressed in national costumes and performing spring-celebrating customs, visit village Vlčnov in early morning on the Easter Monday.
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