Events
The year begins with a festive New Year's Eve
celebration, followed by holidays like Three King's Day (January 6) and
the anniversary of Jan Palach's death (January 19), which honors the
memory of a Charles University student who burned himself to death in protest of the 1969
Soviet occupation.
Easter Monday, which falls
in either March or April, is a classic rite of spring: Czech men of all ages swat at their
favorite women with willow swatches, while the ladies respond with gifts of hand painted
eggs, after which everyone parties.
Labor Day (May 1) is a
communist leftover that coincides with the much older Majales, a spring festival dating
back at least two centuries. Majales was banned by Nazis and communists, revived during
the 'Prague Spring,' subsequently squelched by Soviets and reincarnated in 1997. Majales'
bands, dancers, floats, costumes, beer and sausage have since returned with a vengeance.
Liberation Day was
celebrated May 9 (the day in 1945 that the Red Army marched into Prague) under the
communist government, but in recent years you've had to get there by May 8 (the day Prague
liberated itself) to enjoy the festivities.
Other holidays include Saints Cyril
and Methodius Day (July 5), celebrating the Slav's introduction to Christianity;
Jan Hus Day (July 6), commemorating the fiery execution of the great Bohemian religious
reformer; Czech Statehood Day (September 28); Independence Day
(October 28); Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day (November 17); and Christmas
festivities (December 24-26).
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