Christmas markets light up Prague

Christmas markets are a Central European tradition that goes back centuries. This weekend, markets appeared in squares all around the Czech capital.

Photo: CTK

It's opening day at the Christmas market at Old Town Square in Prague, the entire square has been filled with dozens of little wooden stalls decorated with candles and wreaths, they're selling Prague ham, Turkish honey, mulled wine, scented candles, hand-blown glass baubles for the tree. And speaking of trees, this year the big tree in the square is from Janske Lazne in the Krkonose Mountains in North Bohemia, it's 22 meters high, and right beside it is a sound stage where a choir as you may hear in the background is singing.

Just to the side of the stage, two singers, Maya and Desna, huddled on a bench, surrounded by shopping bags, trying to keep warm.

Photo: CTK

"We're singing with our choir, Kola from Sibenik, from Croatia, and we have a contest, we had the contest yesterday, actually. -And we're waiting for results"

-and what do you think of the Christmas market, how does it compare with markets in Croatia?

"-oh it doesn't even begin to describe! The Christmas market here is, well, its beautiful, it looks really great and we don't have that kind of thing in Croatia."

Just what Pavel Kocych wants to hear. He's the lead architect of the markets in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. He explained the concept behind the design this year.

Photo: CTK

"We have a completely new concept for the stalls. The main thing is that they will take up a third less space than last year. That will allow a lot more people to move easily around the square. We really simplified things, and accentuated the wood elements. And this year we have a replica of a timbered cottage in the style of the Krusne Hory mountains, something new for Praguers. It's aimed mainly at kids and it has a lot of artisans' stalls, including a pottery wheel."

In years past, there had been complaints that the market had become commercial and tacky. There were calls to return to tradition. The Praguers I spoke with agreed that this year's market is charming and tasteful, but what exactly does Kocych mean when he speaks of tradition?

Photo: CTK

"Of course we mix traditional older elements with newer ones in order to keep things interesting. The tradition really lives in the products you find here, and then in the basics, like the living nativity scene."

Ana, a pensioner drinking mulled wine with her friend Mirka, had her own ideas about tradition.

"The markets were a little different when we were girls. They sold fish at the markets! They sold everything possible. When it was cold out, they sold baked chestnuts and we put them in our pockets to keep our hands warm. Because back then it was really cold, with snow. Those are memories, of course, and one's childhood memories are always nicest. You know, we're been friends for years, we were work colleagues actually. And we come here together every year to get that Christmas spirit. You've just gotta have it."