Would you like to know what the Christmas season looked like in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic? Let’s take a look at the Retro Christmas from several decades ago.
Oranges only at Christmas, fish soup served from the same set of plates throughout the country, later then Mrazík and Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella on TV (if you had TV), maybe a walk-man if you somehow got the alternative currency bony and could afford to buy something from Tuzex, fashionable shoes from West Germany if you were lucky enough to have a contact there…but for the children just as magical as can be. This is the Czech Retro Christmas in Pictures.
Andělské zvonění (literally, “angel ringing”) is a beloved Christmas table decoration where the heat from the candles puts the carousel on top in motion and the chains from the carousel make the bells ring.
Many families still use Christmas cookie cutters and molds that are generations old.
Vánoční kolekce or Christmas collection is a set of edible decoration that can still be found on many Czech Christmas trees today.
Traditional Christmas tree decorations were made from glass and many families still have them today.
Typically, the top of the Christmas tree was (and in some families still is) decorated with the so called špica or špice and children liked to make paper chains to decorate not only the tree but also the whole home.
Ethnographic museum in Přerov nad Labem
Retro gift paper. Some moms and grandmothers tried to save it for next year…
Sparklers are very popular also today.
Candle in a nutshell – popular Christmas tradition
Children often used to go sledging without any adult supervision.
Retro calendar – December
Retro Christmas postcard
