by Tomas, age 9 from Prague, Czech Republic, asks Santa about making a Christmas wreath, the Vltava River, and Czech Christmas Eve traditions.
Dear Santa, my name is Tomas, and I am nine years old. I live in Prague, Czech Republic, where my babicka keeps a live carp swimming in our bathtub for a few days before Christmas Eve, and my little sister has already named it.
Dear Tomas, a named bathtub carp might be one of the most delightfully unusual holiday guests I have heard about all year, your little sister sounds like she has a big heart.
Santa, I have three questions.
Can I make a Christmas wreath? My babicka hangs one on our door every single year made from pine branches.
Of course you can, Tomas, pine branches woven into a circle make one of the oldest and coziest Christmas decorations there is. Ask your babicka to teach you her method, wreath-making skills like that are worth passing down.
My teacher says a river called the Vltava runs right through Prague, under a famous old bridge. Is that true?
It is true, Tomas, the Vltava winds right through the heart of Prague, and Charles Bridge has stood over it for more than six hundred years. I always slow down to admire it, statues lining the bridge glowing under a light dusting of snow.
My babicka says on Christmas Eve, unmarried women in the Czech Republic throw a shoe backward over their shoulder to see if they will marry soon. Is that true?
It is a real old tradition, Tomas, if the shoe lands pointing toward the door, tradition says a marriage might be coming that year. I cannot promise it works every time, but traditions like that have kept Czech Christmas Eves playful and full of laughter for generations, and that spirit of fun together is really the heart of it.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Tomas Novak
Prague, Czech Republic
P.S. Should I be worried about the carp in our bathtub?
Only a little, Tomas, that particular tradition has a happy ending for everyone but the carp.
