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It would not have occurred to me that something like that could happen - but I did not like the thing anyway. I'm talking about a Christmas tree, the tallest in this country, nicknamed Big Charles, that stood in Prague's Old Town Square until last Saturday when it came crashing down and nearly killed several people.

Our ancestors certainly knew how to enjoy life: in 1610 Emperor Rudolf II held an ice-skating ball on the Vltava river. What people make the best angels? And -the man who played dead for six years in order to avoid paying alimony. Find out more in this week's Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

With the magic of Christmas right around the corner, children and adults alike are getting into the spirit of the season, not just by scouring the shopping malls. Outside of Prague below the Medieval Karlstein Castle, lies the Karlstein Nativity Museum. The museum specializes in authentic old Czech Nativity scenes dating as far back as the end of the 18th century crafted from the materials of wood, paper and sugar.

Parliamentary elections in Russia, the departure of Freedom Union deputy chairman Ratibor Majzlik from the party's weekend conference and the results of Saturday's Cesky slavik- the Czech Nightingale pop-music awards - those are some of the front page stories in today's Czech papers.

It should have been a relaxing pre-Christmas Saturday spent seeing the sights and sounds of Prague's Old Town Square, hosting its traditional Christmas market. But for some it almost ended in tragedy. Tourists and local visitors were shocked at around 11 am, when a sudden gust of 100 kilometre winds hit the pride of the square, a 30-metre tall Christmas tree, snapping it at its base and sending it crashing to the ground.

A 30-metre tall Christmas tree crashed to the ground during high winds at an open-air Christmas market filled with tourists and shoppers in Prague's historic Old Town Square on Saturday morning, injuring four people, two of them foreign tourists. Prague rescue officials said a 100 km/h gust of wind snapped the tree, sending it plunging down into the stalls of several vendors at the market. A spokesman for the Prague rescue department said two people suffered broken bones when the tree landed on them, while two others, including a child, had cuts and bruises. Strong winds also hit East Bohemia and North Moravia on Saturday.

Children around the Czech Republic were due to be visited on Friday evening by St Nicholas, an angel and a devil. December 6 is actually St Nicholas's Day, but it is observed the evening before. Children are given sweets if they have been good and coal or potatoes if they have been naughty.

The government's plans for pension reform, the withdrawal of the Czech field hospital from Basra and the unveiling of a Franz Kafka statue in Prague have all received front page coverage in Lidove Noviny. Pravo has highlighted the shaky position of Foreign Minster Cyril Svoboda within his own party, while Mlada Fronta Dnes carries a detailed front page report on Transport Minister Simonovsky's proposal to get tough with undisciplined drivers.

How do foreigners view the Czech Republic? What's so special about the Lostice nativity scene and why would no one have a golden carp for their Christmas dinner? Find out more in this week's Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

In this week's edition of the Arts, Dita Asiedu, looks at the House of the Black Madonna, where a new Museum of Cubism has just opened its doors to the public. But before that, a brief review of the latest arts news: