And a Happy New Year!

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a time for celebration and introspection in almost every culture. Likewise, people often take part in traditions designed either to bring prosperity and good health in the coming year, or simply to see a vision of what Fate has in store. In the Czech Republic, many of these predictive activities happen on Christmas Eve, but they could just as easily be done on December 31st.

Just to be clear, Czechs aren't the only ones with bonkers New Year's traditions. Red underwear?

Broadly speaking, these sort of end of year superstitions fall into two types: those which actually create good luck, and those which merely predict what the future holds. The extent to which any of these are actually practiced by modern Czechs is uncertain. Many of these traditions were much more widespread a century ago but have become less popular in the modern age. That said, while very few Americans actually believe that spilling table salt leads to utter ruin, many of us still treat spilled salt differently from other kitchen mishaps, don't we?

Let's start with the things designed to encourage good fortune in the coming year. We'll start with the carp. Yes, that central Christmas beast plays a part in good luck traditions, too. Not only are dried scales from the carp put under each plate to help bring prosperity in the coming year (coins are sometimes also used for this), but the carp scales are then carried around in your wallet until the next Christmas. This is to ensure that you will always have more money, the way carps always have more scales--or at least so the tradition goes. This is probably the single most widespread of the traditions, possibly because no extra materials are required--the carp is already there, so why not go for it?

And who doesn't want to have one of these constantly in your wallet?

Similarly, if they either totally fast before dinner on Christmas Eve (or simply don't eat meat--traditions vary), Czechs hope to be rewarded with a vision of a golden pig, foretelling prosperity. As with almost all these traditions, the origins of the golden pig sighting is lost in the dense mists of time, but it is clearly pagan, with some Christian influence poking in here and there.

Given the importance of meat to the Czech diet, one might
say that seeing the Golden Pig is as likely as seeing a flying one.

Eating the Christmas meal generally has a lot of superstitious elements. Everything from when the meal is served (after the first star appears) to the number of places set (even numbers only), and even how you leave the table (the first person to get up will die the following year...yikes) is traditionally freighted with meaning.

These are all ways of trying to create good fortune or prevent bad. However, pure prognostication is also prevalent at year end, with people trying to catch a glimpse of what waits in store. The simplest of these is about apples. Apples, along with pears, are the most common fruit in the region, so it's no surprise that they would find their way into these legends. Anyway, the trick is simple: take an apple, and cut in half horizontally, through the core. Once that's done, look at the pattern the core makes. If it's a star shape (by far the most common shape for apple seeds to make), then you will have good health. If it's in the shape of a cross, then you will have ill health and likely die. Cheerful, right?

I don't know what the fig is doing there trying to upstage the apple.

Thank heaven for stock photos.

Walnuts are also very Christmas-y, and Czechs make little boats out of the shells. They then put small candles in them and float the small boats in a basin of water. Accounts vary as to whether the boats are used to tell general fortunes or whether, like nutty little Magic 8 Balls, you're meant to ask a specific question about the coming year. Either way, depending on the movement of the boats in relation to one another, you get your answer. The meanings and interpretations vary wildly, though everyone seems to agree that it is a very bad sign if your little boat sinks. Of all the traditions, I think this might be the most fun and could be used as a great party activity around the holidays.

The most elaborate tradition is lead-pouring, often referred to by it's German name Bleigiessen. It's fancy name is molybdomancy, and it dates back to Ancient Greece.

As you can see in the video, the process is somewhat tedious, but it basically involves melting some lead (or tin--they both have very low melting points) in a spoon over a candle. So far, so drug-like. Once the metal is melted, you pour it into a basin of cold water and let it reharden. You take the resulting blob of lead out and match it against a book or whatnot, and its shape reveals what kind of year you will have.

Clearly, this is very scientific.

This is a tradition that is apparently regaining popularity among the young, and at least one of my students said she had started doing lead-pouring the previous year and that she quite liked it and was looking forward to it this year. Let's face it, melting metal and pouring it into water sounds pretty fun on its own--the idea that it can tell the future is just an added bonus. Ceromancy, where wax is used instead of lead, is also done, sometimes with children because it's safer (lead fumes, anyone?), or sometimes just because it's faster and easier.

So, at midnight on the 31st, slice an apple in half while you kiss your partner with a carp scale safely tucked in your wallet to guarantee a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

Happy 2018--šťastný nový rok!



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