Czech Republic

During the evening of the 6th December, children watch the sky for any sign of St. Nicholas. They believe that he comes down from the sky with a bag of presents for good children and a bag of sticks for bad children. When children think they can hear him coming, they rush to the dinner table and say their prayers, hoping that they will get good presents.

At Christmas in the Czech Republic, even the animals are given a share of the Christmas food. This includes pets and any farm animals that families may have.

A place is left empty at the Christmas Day meal in case the Christ Child should come to the meal.