Prague's Old Town Square Christmas tree will be lit six times on November 30

To keep crowds to a manageable size, the tree in Old Town Square will be re-lit once an hour on the half-hour —4:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 6:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:30 pm, and 9:30 pm. Entertainment starts at 11:20 am.

The first song
played will be the same as it has been since 2017, but the tree décor
is different and the lighting pattern will be slower to give people
more chance to see details.

The Old Town Square
tree is a 22-meter spruce from Semily in the Liberec region this
year. It is decorated with 40 angels and 4.5 kilometers of LED
chains in warm white. They will be complemented by white and red
balls, stars and gingerbread.

A theme in the
decorations of the markets in Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, and
náměstí Republiky — all operated by the same company — is
angels, highlighted by traditional colors of gold and white with
details of red and green.

Under the tree,
visitors will find Nativity scene on one side and a snowy village on
the other side, which will serve as a photo corner. The popular
Cinderella slipper from last year will return and there will be an
Advent wreath with mistletoe for photo backdrops.

“Angels will
appear above the heads of visitors, hovering around the central tree.
Moreover, they will shine, so that the illusion of flying angels will
be almost realistic in the evening,” Jakub Olbert, director of SOS
Dekorace, said.

The stalls in Old
Town Square have a new design mixing metal and natural wood tiles,
and colored strips on their roofs. There will also be live potted
trees in the market area to create the feeling of a forest.

The market runs
until Three Kings Day on January 6. Almost 4,500 performers will
perform on the stage and every day there are performances of folk and
children’s ensembles from the Czech Republic and abroad, charity and
accompanying events, dance performances and program blocks for
children and adults.

Vendors will put an
emphasis on Czech-made goods and domestic food as much as possible.
Several stalls will have gifts made in charity-supported workshops.
Plates and cups are made of compostable materials but need to put in
the proper trash bins. Morre space this year will be allotted to
charitable organizations.

After the tree in
Old Town Square is taken down, the cleaned branches will go to Prague
Zoo to feed animals, and the wood will go to a carpentry shop in
Brno.

The market will be
open from 10 am to 10 pm daily, with some food stands open until
midnight.