Weekend headlines: Prague welcomes an unseasonably warm Christmas Day

Most locations in the Czech Republic will experience overcast skies and rain on Christmas Day, reports the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. Snow has melted in Prague and other cities due to unseasonably warm temperatures, and only areas of high elevation across the country are experiencing a white Christmas this year.

Due to a warm front that typically moves across central Europe at the end of December, Prague only rarely experiences a white Christmas. The Czech capital saw the most snow over Christmas Day in 1969, when a total of 29 centimeters were recorded at the Karlov measuring station. The most Christmas snow recorded in the Czech Republic was in 1981, when 194 centimeters were recorded in the Jeseníky Mountains.

Firefighters across the Czech Republic reported to 45 calls of fires on Christmas Eve, compared to 52 in 2021. Due to household celebrations around dry Christmas trees, often involving the use of sparklers, Christmas Eve is traditionally one of the dates when firefighters are most often called into action.

Christmas Eve fires resulted in no deaths, seven injuries, and more than 30 million crowns in damages. The highest damages were reported in the village of Klášterec following a fire in an agricultural hall. In Prague, there were seven fires including one as a result of a sparkler setting a Christmas tree ablaze, which resulted in two million crowns in damages and four family members treated by paramedics.

The Czech Republic's Christmas post office at Boží Dar processed 313 kilograms of letters this year, returning them to senders with a special Christmas stamp. Most of the letters are written by young children and addressed to Baby Jesus (Ježíšek), containing their Christmas wishes for the year.

Boží Dar, which has the highest elevation of any town in the Czech Republic at 1,028 meters above sea level, represents something akin to a local North Pole. Letters to Ježíšek sent to Boží Dar have been stamped with a special Christmas motif and returned to senders every year since 1994.

A total of 52 percent of Czechs say that they will make a New Year's resolution for 2023, according to a survey conducted by investment and trading platform eToro on about 2,000 Czechs. Roughly half of Czech New Year's resolutions focus on health, while about 40 percent relate to financial goals or saving money, a large increase from last year.

"The cost of living crisis is dominating the headlines and is clearly making people think more about how to manage their money in the coming year," says eToro analyst Sam North. "While we all hope that the financial pressure will ease in 2023, Czechs are clearly going to fight back next year and improve the way they manage their finances with their money instead of burying their heads in the sand."

Outgoing Mayor of Prague Zdeněk Hřib served up about 2,000 portions of a traditional Czech Christmas carp soup to the homeless as well as locals and tourists on Friday afternoon at Prague's Old Town Square. A yearly tradition in the Czech capital, the annual event took place for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic.

"No one should be hungry or alone at Christmastime," Hřib wrote on social media. "This is the message of the traditional serving of fish soup to the city's homeless, as well to all those interested who came to the Old Town Square on Friday for the Christmas atmosphere. It was a success!"

Christmas traffic resulted in a large-scale pileup on the D1 highway on Friday afternoon, involving a total of 38 cars and two trucks between the 170th and 180th kilometer in the direction of Brno. Traffic on the highway was completely halted for several hours.

"There was thick fog in the area, several pile-ups occurred there," police spokesman Petr Vala told reporters, adding that a long queue of vehicles formed before the scene of the crash. A bus delivered warm beverages to those stuck in traffic, and offered transport for those affected by the accident to a nearby hotel.

The classic 1973 Czech fairy tale Three Wishes for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku) has become a beloved Christmas classic across a number of European countries; in Norway, it was so popular that it received its own 2021 remake. But the full version of the original movie has not been made available until this year.

While the Czech classic is broadcast every year on Norwegian TV, is has been edited for content: a scene featuring the death of a fox was deemed to violent for local viewers, and has been excised from the film since the 1970s. This year, however, an uncut restored version of Three Wishes for Cinderella can be seen on DVD for the first time thanks to distributor Platekompaniet.

More than 700 Czech servicemen and servicewomen currently serving abroad will get a chance to celebrate a traditional Christmas dinner tonight thanks to an initiative from the Czech army, spokeswoman Vlastimila Cyprisová tells reporters. Czech soldiers are currently serving in the Baltics, the Balkans, Egypt, and Slovakia.

In Egypt, a special flight carrying a Christmas tree made its way to the Czech troops last weekend. It will allow them to prepare a traditional Czech dinner sourced from local ingredients, as well as distribute gifts and make calls to family back home. The largest contingent of Czech troops abroad is currently serving at a NATO mission in Slovakia, and will celebrate Christmas Eve with carols, gift-giving, and a traditional dinner.