These days, it’s common for parents to hire a group of people to come and visit their kids at home. Nicholas is traditionally accompanied by a black companion, who is generally referred to as Black Pete.
However, you will certainly be able to get a feel for the occasion by taking a stroll through Prague’s streets as night starts to fall. Understandably, traditions surrounding Black Pete have become controversial in recent years.
In the 1860s the French chemist pure-culture technology was taken up quickly by Continental lager brewers but not until the 20th century by the ale brewers of Britain.
Meanwhile, German-style lagers bottom-fermented by pure yeast cultures became dominant in the Americas.
British newspaper, The Daily Mirror, has called this Czech Custom the scariest Christmas tradition in the world.
A simple google search for “Czech Republic terrifies kids” will bring up no end of articles on the subject, and also some videos and photos of kids being pretty thoroughly terrified.
The streets will be alive with the jangle of rattling chains, white fluffy beards and golden halos. Mikulas day festivities, is connected to the story of Black Pete. Nicholas’s black skinned companion was the first black person they had ever seen.
However, coming up on December 5 is possibly the Czech Republic’s most bizarre, terrifying and in recent years, somewhat controversial, tradition.
I am of course talking about the day of Saint Mikulas.
The Czechs have many bizzare and unusual traditions.
There’s the Christmas carp in the bathtub, whipping the women in their lives in exchange for shots of alcohol at Easter and burning a straw effigy of a witch to say goodbye to the winter, just to name a few.
One person will be dressed as an angel, one will be dressed as a devil and one will be dressed as Saint Mikulas himself.