Featured Photographer: VeronikaGphotography

 

My name is Veronika Goisova and I'm the owner of VeronikaGphotography and veronikaGdesign.

I'm from the Czech republic and we moved with my husband to Canada 6 years ago, and we have two kids now.

Christmas in Czech is all about Jesus.  Jesus is even bringing us gifts at December 24 evening, that's our Christmas day.  Now since we live in Canada and our kids know also all about Santa Claus we have some gifts under the tree at morning December 25 as well from him. :)

I'm trying to show them most of the Christmas Czech traditions, it's really important for me to show them what kind of Christmas I had as a kid.

So we start with an Advent wreath and we burn 4 candles, every Sunday before Christmas.

We are baking gingerbread and making an Advent calendar with it too.

This year I also made an Advent book calendar, so each day they unpack one book till Christmas.  I was collecting books through the year,and many got in second hand stores.

We are doing a lot of Christmas crafts, making ornaments of dried fruit just like people did long time ago, dried apples, oranges, cranberries, walnuts and also nature stuff, like pine cones, all kinds of tree needles and we also try it this year make salt dough ornaments and kids really enjoyed that.

 

We are talking and reading a lot about how Jesus was born, making and drawing little nativity sets, which we even sent this year as a gifts to our family in Czech too.

We did a little tree for the kids in their room, but our big tree is coming up on Christmas day-December 24 morning. We will decorate together, watching Czech classic stories and waiting for evening.

We try not to eat much during that day,and we should not eat red meat at all that day.  Jesus was born in poverty, so we should show him our love by fasting and giving up something, just like he did for us.  

Our most important dinner of the year is potato salad and breaded fish, we also have mushroom noodle soup before that.  After the dinner are waiting for Jesus to come, we hear bells and then we can go check under the tree where are gifts from him, Its all happens after the sunset, with candles and sparkly lights,true magic for kids.

 

So that is little bit about our Christmas,I hope everyone will have very merry, good and happy Christmas! :)