Radio Prague International - latest articles

For the second time now, most Czechs will be seeing the New Year in quietly in the company of family and friends. New restrictions, in force over the next five days, have been imposed to prevent boisterous celebrations which could trigger an explosion of the more contagious Omicron variant in the New Year.

Scientists from Masaryk University in Brno regularly head off to Antarctica at year’s end to conduct long-term research on climate change. This time around, they also will study the influence of polar conditions on animals – and themselves .

Clown Doctors (Zdravotní klaun in Czech) recently marked 20 years of visiting Czech hospitals and nursing homes. Over that period the organisation says it has spent a total of nearly three million hours cheering up patients of all ages. I discussed the past and present of Clown Doctors with director Kateřina Slámová Kubešová.

President Miloš Zeman used his traditional Christmas address to call on the government sworn into office the week before to take bold steps to tackle three major challenges: the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the looming energy crisis, and a ballooning budget deficit.

A new LGBT+ community centre has just opened on Železná St. in central Prague. The centre, which is open year-round, is run by Prague Pride, organisers of the country’s biggest festival for sexual minorities. I discussed it with Pride’s director Tom Bílý, who also heads the new community centre.

The Czech Christmas is inseparably associated with carp. This rather dull-tasting fish became the central part of the Christmas dinner in the 19th century. It gradually replaced various types of cereal and dried fruit as the most popular fasting meal on Christmas Eve. That said, Czech breeders producing carp and other freshwater fish today do more business abroad than at home.

Snails, once a traditional Christmas dish in this part of the world, are once again gaining popularity. Russian entrepreneur Roman Chusnutdin was one of the first people to cash in on the trend, setting up a small snail farm in Dolní Chabry on the outskirts of Prague.

Five years ago, Czech Radio launched a nation-wide charity called Ježíškova vnoučata (Santa’s grandchildren) that truly reflects the spirit of Christmas. It aims to bring a smile to the faces of abandoned, elderly people who have no family and friends to cheer them up.

While most people in the Czech Republic are looking forward to spending the festive season with their family and loved ones, some have to spend Christmas on their own, bound to a hospital bed. To make the difficult time easier for them, Prague’s Bulovka hospital has been providing the assistance of a chaplain.

Czech expats the world over are taking part in a Best Christmas Carol competition. Give them your vote!