A friend recently told me that it would be interesting to hear about what makes the Czech Republic and the people unique. There's a ton of history here, as well as a lot of traditional superstition. Here are a few examples. Maybe more will come later as I think of them. :)
- When visiting friends, it's typical to bring a gift such as chocolate or flowers that you can buy fresh all over the place. However, you should always buy an odd number of flowers; even numbers are only used at funerals.
- May 1 is the "Day of Love" when couples go to a specific park in Prague to kiss under the flowering cherry trees (or if not that park, under other blooming trees). The tradition comes from a romantic poem called "Maj" by a Czech poet, and his statue is in this park. Supposedly this keeps the girl beautiful all year.
- From the carp that is eaten at Christmas, keep a scale to put in your wallet for riches throughout the year. My friend gave me one of her scales since she had several. :)
- Czechs celebrate their Name Day as much as their birthday. Typically every Czech name corresponds to a day on the Name Day calendar (so there are a limited number of Czech names - one for each day of the year) and on your Name Day it is typical to receive flowers and gifts. For additional interest, I sort of have 2 Name Days: Jana (the female version of my name) is May 24 and Jan (which is ONLY a man's name in Czech) is June 24. Feel free to celebrate with me! :)
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