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The Czech lottery Sazka has announced a competition in making babies! How do Czechs envisage a perfect weekend? Are you a Karel Gott fan? You'll soon be able to visit Gottland! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

Christmas is drawing close - and in this most Christmasy of countries - one of the first signs of the oncoming season is always the annual ritual of preparing the Christmas tree for Prague's Old Town Square.

Welcome to the ABC of Czech in which this season we explore Czech vocabulary related to food and cuisine. The series is slowly drawing to a close, but it would not be complete without a look at the Czech Christmas table - vánoční stůl. So even though Christmas is still some time away, it will be our topic for today.

Wednesday saw the 10th annual Three Kings Procession in Prague, to mark the festival of Epiphany, re-enacting the journey of the Three Wise Men to visit the infant Jesus. The procession included musicians, live camels and a nativity scene complete with Mary, Josef and a live baby Jesus. The event, which has now become a Prague institution, was the brainchild of a Spanish priest and missionary. People gather every year to watch the colourful procession and bring gifts for charity. This year, toys were collected for children at a Prague

Toulcuv dvur has a long history and dates back to at least 1362. Under Empress Maria Theresa it was a sheep farm and, more recently, the Communists used it for industrial purposes. Now, though, it is an environmental education centre for children. Here, Nikola Brabenec visits Toulcuv dvur, and finds out you can visit a farm without having to leave Prague.

"Byl jednou jeden kral" — once upon a time, there was a king — the opening line for many a classic fairytale. While all peoples have their folk tales and legends, from the Arabian Nights to the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, in few cultures have fairytales won such an honored and beloved a place as they enjoy in the hearts of the Czech people, certainly at Christmas time.

Tune in for a special Xmas edition of Magazine - which can serve as a crash course for foreigners who are spending their first Xmas here and who may find things a bit strange at first.

For centuries, Czechs have enjoyed the Christmas treat vanocka, which means bakers have labored to make the sweet, fruity bread for just as many centuries. Radio Prague's Eric Martin found out just how difficult the bread is to make. The product of his hours-long solo attempt was practically inedible, so we sent him to get his act together at a well-known Prague bakery as it prepared for the Christmas season's first batch of vanocka.

In the lobby of the Czech Radio building on Prague's Vinohradska Street there is a large yellow candle. Many people have come to light their own candles from it. But what is its significance? Martin Mikule explains what the candle means.

A Czech carp meets a swift end under the club and knife of a Prague seller - one of many on Prague's streets hawking the traditional Christmas fish - ahead of Christmas Eve. The seller, whose name is Josef, tells me Czechs have been eating carp for generations. It simply wouldn't be Christmas without carp on the plate.