Where Festivity Is Tradition

The Czech Republic is located in Europe, bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Slovakia to the east, and Austria to the south. The Czechs celebrate Christmas every year, beginning with a dinner on December 24. The tables for this dinner can only be set for an even number of guests, because an odd number will bring bad luck. All of the lights in the house must be turned off until the first star comes out, and when it does, the dinner may commence. The first person to leave the table when the meal is finished will be the first person to die that year- this is why everyone must stand up at the same time.

Easter, or "Velikonoce", meaning "green nights", is a very cheerful and lighthearted holiday in the Czech Republic. Red is a very commonly worn color during this time, because it symbolizes joy, health, happiness, and new life that comes with spring. Families elaborately decorate Easter eggs together, and a nationwide Easter egg contest is held in Prague and other Czech cities on Easter. Another Easter tradition is the whipping of one's legs with the pomlázka, or pussywillow twigs. Pussywillow twigs are braided and painted with bright colors and then are used by young boys to beat the back of girls legs. This longstanding tradition is thought to bring health and youth to young girls.

Another annual Czech custom is the "Burning of the Witches" (paleni carodejnic), which takes place on the evening of April 30. Huge bonfires are built on the hills in the more rural areas of the Czech Republic and everyone stays out late watching them burn. This stems from an ancient pagan tradition which was thought to symbolize and end to winter and a welcoming to the spring.

Music
Music is the most popular form of art in the Czech Republic and there is even a saying, "Co Cech, to muzikant", which means "Every Czech is a musician".

Cuisine
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries. Many of the fine cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated in the Czech lands.
Czech cuisine is marked by a strong emphasis on meat dishes. Pork is quite common, and beef and chicken are also popular. Goose, duck, rabbit and wild game are served. Fish is rare, with the occasional exception of fresh trout, and carp, which is served at Christmas.
Knedlíky (boiled sliced dumplings) are one of the mainstays of Czech cuisine and are quite often served with meals. They can be wheat or potato based, and are sometimes made from a combination of wheat flour and stale bread or rolls. They are typically large and served cut into slices, in contrast with the smaller dumplings found in Austrian cuisine. Only potato based dumplings are usually smaller.
Roast pork with dumplings and cabbage is considered the most popular Czech dish. There are two variants of preparing the cabbage, Bohemian and Moravian. Bohemians prefer the cabbage to be sour, so they prepare the dish from sauerkraut. In Moravia it is preferred sweeter and so is prepare from fresh cabbage, or by adding some sugar, if the fresh variety is not accessible. But these variants aren't strict, and either may be available in each region.
Marinated beef sirloin or simply svíèková. Roast beef, usually larded, with a thick sauce made of carrot, parsley and cream, served with dumplings. Often served with a cream topping, a teaspoon of cranberry compote and slice of lemon.

Snacks
Since beer culture is a big part of Czech life, many important Czech dishes and cheeses are usually eaten as pub fare.
Bramboráky (regionally called cmunda or vošouch in Pilsen and "strik" or "striky" in Czech Silesia) are fried pancakes made of rough-grated or fine-grated raw potatoes (brambory in Czech), flour, milk and sometimes sliced sausages (but this is not common, because bramboráky are usually inteded to be a vegetarian meal). They are spiced with marjoram, salt, pepper, garlic. Usually sized to fit the cooking dish. Smaller variant can be made smaller and eaten as side dish. There is a similar dish from the Slovakian-Ruthenian borderland called harula, prepared with less milk and fat, addition of onion, baked on tin in oven, instead of frying.
Utopenci (literally "drowned men") are piquantly pickled bratwursts.

Cheese
Smažený Sýr is maybe the less noble, but the most contemporary of Czech national dishes. A slice of cheese (usually Edam or Hermelín) about 1 cm thick is coated in bread-crumbs like Wiener schnitzel (which is very popular, also) and fried either on a pan or in deep fryer, and often topped with tartar sauce. The czech version of tartar sauce is not so thick which makes it more similar to mayonnaise.
Nakládaný hermelín is a soft cheese, similar to Camembert marinated with peppers, onion etc. in oil. Hermelin can also be deep fried as above.
Pivní Sýr (beer cheese) is a soft cheese, usually mixed with raw onions and mustard, and spread on bread. Niva is a a blue cheese, originally made in the town of Niva in the Prostìjov district.
Olomoucké syreèky maturing cheese with strong odour, invented by Josef Wesselss 131 yrs. ago. It's made in Loštice, small town in Moravia. Tradition of making this cheese dates since 15th century. Tvarùžky can be fried, marinated or added to bramborák.

Desserts
Fruit dumplings are mostly made using plums and are served as dessert on holidays like Easter and Christmas. Whole plums (in some regions including the stones) are coated with potato dough and boiled, then served with butter, sugar and sometimes milled poppy or tvaroh. Different varieties of fruit dumplings include strawberry, cherry, apricot, bilberry or peach. They are usually eaten as a main dish, not simply dessert except on holidays.

Kolache is a type of pastry consisting of fillings ranging from fruits to cheeses inside a bread roll. Vánoèka is prepared for Christmas, along with many kinds of biscuits and sweets (vánoèní cukroví).