Christmas is the most beautiful holiday of the year, accompanied by a pleasant atmosphere and mysterious charm. Christmas, along with Easter, is one of the two main holidays of the Christian liturgical year. It is based on the biblical story of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and the celebration of this event. The term “Czech Christmas” has a specific cultural meaning. Over the centuries, Czechs have formed distinctive Christmas with a unique charm. The first harbinger of Christmas is St Nicholas Day. On the evening of December 5, you can often see this protector of children, strolling around the city, accompanied by an Angel and a Devil, visiting children and handing out small gifts. Before Christmas, everyone looks for gifts, bakes Christmas pastries, and buys a tree and carp for Christmas dinner. Large carp tanks are placed in the city streets around December 20. On Christmas Eve, December 24, the whole family gathers for a festive dinner, usually serving fish or pea soup, fried carp with potato salad, and Christmas cookies. After dinner, a bell rings to announce that Baby Jesus has brought presents, and the family gathers around the festively lit Christmas tree to sing carols and open the gifts. However, the Christmas spirit can be felt from the onset of the Advent season. The city is already festively decorated at that time, and in many places, Christmas trees are already lit as the main symbols of the coming holidays. The largest Christmas tree is traditionally in Old Town Square. Christmas markets take place in the historical parts of the city, as well as in the suburbs. Even the cultural events in the city are in the spirit of Christmas. Exhibitions, concerts in Prague’s churches and concert halls, Advent music festivals, benefit concerts, special programs for children, open-air ice skating – everyone can choose from such a diverse offer. For most Czechs, the Christmas Mass with folk pastoral elements by the Czech cantor and composer Jakub Jan Ryba (1765—1815) “Hey Master” is an inseparable part of Christmas. It can often be heard in churches during the Advent season. It is also customary to visit one of the many churches in which Nativity scenes are displayed from December 24 until the first days of January. For instance, St Matthew Church in Dejvice is scented with freshly baked gingerbread Nativity scene every year, and a life-size Nativity scene can be seen in the Monastery Church of Our Lady of Angels in Hradčany.