Czech traditions

"Dušičky"1.11 We celebrate the people who died. Families go to cemeteries and put flowers there. They put candles there and cemeteries are full of small lights. We do not have Halloween in czech republic but children celebrate it.

Building "Májka"

The night before 1st May, boys who are single go to the wood and they cut the long tree. They cut brunches and then they decorate the tree. After decoration they raise the tree in the centre of the village and they watch, because some boys can go to the village and steal it. This is a tradition between small villages. Boys who watched the trees successfully then can go from house to house and they get small presents from single girls. It is a funny and nice tradition.

Burning witches

It was very popular tradition in the past. The villagers believed that they have to burn the with on the big fire because other witches will be frightened and they wanted to protect their houses and farm animals against witches. Today, it is only a nice traditionion for chilren. People build a big fire and then they place the doll - a witch on the top, then they burn it and then they bake sausages on the fire.

Czech traditional stories

Czech traditional stories

Krok and his daughters.

There was a man and his name was Krok. He had three daughters and their names were Kazi, Teta and Libuše. Kazi got married to Bivoj, because he was very big, handsome and so strong that he slained dangerous boar. Teta was a witch and the last daughter, Libuše became the leader of the Czech tribe. Men were angry, because the leader was the woman so she told them: "Follow my horse and it will bring you to the new leader." The men followed the horse and found a man with name Přemysl Oráč. They took him to Libuše and they fell in love. They married and they were all happy, men had a new leader, Přemysl and Libuše had a husband.

Staroměstský orloj



Before many many centuries ago there was a master who lived in Prague, his name was Hanuš and he could build beautiful towers and buildings. One day he built Staroměstský orloj. Staroměstský orloj was so beautiful that Hanuš got an offer to build it somewhere else. The Czech aristocracy did not like it and therefore they burned his eyes. Master Hanuš wanted to take revenge on them so he took one important componant out of the Staroměstský orloj. After some time Staroměstský orloj was repaired and now it is one of the biggest sights in Prague, all foreigners and tourists want to see it.

Polish traditions

Sharing Holy Wafer

It is a tradition of Christmas Eve in Poland.

Before a Christmas dinner members of every family gather around the table and share Holy Wafer (in Polish 'opłatek') with each other. Christmas wafer is a sign of Jesus Christ's body. During breaking 'opłatek' Polish people express one's good wishes. 

St. Andrew's day

29/30 November in Poland is the day of mysterious parties with the candles and future telling games, namely the marriage, lucky or unlucky love and prosperous or poor perspectives. The most popular ones are: wax pouring through the hole in a key - the shadow of the wax figure it's a prophecy for the next year and a shoes race by putting one shoe at a time in front of each other in the direction of the door - the first shoe which crosses the doorstep belongs to the person who will soon change their marital status . 

Drowning of Marzanna

A first day of Spring in Poland is celebrated very unusual.

The most interesting tradition, which is celebrated on 20th March,

is drowning of Marzanna. People, usually children make a colourful

doll, which is drown in a river.

FAMILY SUNDAY DINNER

On Sunday for dinner Polish familes usually cook a traditional soup called "rosół" - chicken soup. They eat it  together and enjoy it so much. For the second dish the Polish eat "kotlet schabowy" - pork chop with potatoes and  beetroots or other  vegetables.

Polish traditional stories

Polish traditional stories

Świętokrzyski region

Legend about town's name Kielce

Mieszko, son of Boleslaus II of Poland dreamt he was attacked by a band of brigands in a forest. In the dream he saw a vision of Saint Adalbert who drew a winding line which turned into a stream. When Mieszko woke up, he found the Silnica River whose waters helped him regain strength. He also discovered huge white tusks of an unknown animal. Mieszko announced he would build a town and a church. The town's name Kielce commemorates the mysterious tusks ("kieł" in Polish).

Legend of Bartek the Oak tree

One day a guardian-angel arrived to the Polish kingdom. He had a special acorn. He told the Polish king to plant the seed, that he gave to him, and informed inhabitants about this event. The king planted the seed, which grew up as a big tree. The tree has lived through many bad, historical events but the civils helped it with many supports, so it is still alive. Now it's visited by many tourists.

National legends

Mermaid of Warsaw

is a symbol of the capital of Poland. The City's literature and tour guides say the mermaid decided to stay after stopping on a riverbank near the Old Town. Fishermen noticed something was creating waves, tangling nets, and releasing their fish. They planned to trap the animal, then heard her singing and fell in love. A rich merchant trapped and inprisoned the mermaid. Hearing her cries, the fishermen rescued her. Ever since the mermaid, armed with a sword and a shield, has been ready to help protect the city and its residents.

The Wawel Dragon

This is a very old legend. It takes place in Kraków in Poland. The legend is about a boy - shoemaker who killed a dangerous dragon that was eating half of Kraków. He used a poisened sheep - after the dragon ate it he was very thirsty. When he started drinking he eventually burst! After that the whole village began to cheer and people were happy again! They praised the boy for being a hero! The shoemaker married a princess and got half of the kingdom as the king had promised him before.

Spanish traditions