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Among the Advent events that reflect the true spirit of Christmas is the annual Charity Advent Market organized by the Fund Act For Others. Now in its fourth year, the market is organized by international team of dedicated enthusiasts who give it a multicultural flair. A visit to the three day-event at Prague’s Mala Strana will bring you joy ahead of Christmas and enable the fund to help the needy. I spoke to founder and event manager of Act for Others Melanie Schilling about what the market, which opens at the Maltese Palace on Friday, will offer

Czechs are expected to spend on average 10,000 crowns for Christmas presents this year, which is an increase by about one fifth on the previous year, suggest a survey carried out by the agency Nielsen Admoshpere for Profi Credit, a company providing financial and credit services.

A 22-metre tall spruce felled near Křivoklat, South Bohemia, has gone up on Prague’s Old Town Square for Christmas. This year’s Christmas tree on the square grew for 66 years.

It will be decorated and illuminated for the first time on Saturday, December 2, to mark the opening of the Christmas market. Last year, the ceremony was seen by 12,000 people.

Ježíšek’s grandchildren ( Santa’s grandchildren) is the name of a nationwide charity project launched by Czech Radio. It aims to bring a smile to the faces of abandoned, elderly, people who have no family and friends to cheer them up. The aim is to encourage members of the public to grant these people a wish as a special Christmas gift in a scheme that should interconnect generations and revive the true spirit of Christmas. I spoke to Marietta Prajslerová, one of the project organizers at Czech Radio, about what it involves and how the idea

U.S. News & World Report has just rated Prague as their Best Christmas Vacation, beating out nearby Vienna, which came in second, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was ranked third. Described as a “winter wonderland you’ve got to see to believe”, the publication also praised the Czech capital’s increasingly famous seasonal markets. I asked Barbora Hrubá of Prague City Tourism, the body which promotes the capital city, to present her pitch for why Prague is being lauded as a Christmas destination:

In most respects 2016 was a good year for tourism not least in the Czech capital, which saw yet another increase in the number of visitors. But there were complications as well, among them heightened security introduced at Prague Castle mid-season which led to unexpected and unprecedented lines, at least for a time. Still, on the whole, Prague offers more and better possibilities than ever, something Radio Prague discussed with the head of Prague City Tourism, Nora Dolanská. We began by asking her first how she rated 2016 overall.

Some 65 people in Rajhrad in the area of Brno donned costumes on Christmas Day to create one of the largest live nativity scenes in Moravia, an event attended by some 500 people, the Czech News Agency reported. According to the agency, the event was held for the 16th time; some who had been toddlers when they first participated years ago were now able to play adult roles. The live event included the spoken word and Christmas carols, organiser Magda Mlejnková said. She confirmed that the weather had been ideal except for the lack of snow.

In the last twenty-five years or so, Czechs have increasingly recognized the importance of giving to charity, not only for the sake of the society, but for themselves. Many people contribute to charity regularly, but at Christmas time the urge to help others and spare a thought for the less fortunate is stronger than ever. For this Christmas special I spoke to Pavla Vopeláková, a young woman whose whole life has revolved around charity, about her work for the Czech branch of the Salvation Army, some of the special charity projects linked to Christmas

In today’s special Christmas edition of Sunday music show, we’ll be listening a live recording of a concert featuring the Moravian folk rock band Hradišťan and Spirituál kvintet, a band playing mostly American spiritual and gospel music. The album, entitled Christmas Concert, brings a mixture of spiritual, secular, classical and folk songs from across the centuries and regions, including early Czech music, songs by Czech baroque composer Adam Michna z Otradovic or Bohuslav Martinů as well as traditional American spirituals, such as such as What

In what has become an annual tradition, politicians served carp soup to the public on Prague’s Wenceslas and Old Town squares on Dec. 24. Originally the soup, which is part of the traditional Christmas meal, was intended for the homeless, but with growing interest from the public it became something of a social event with scores of people turning up to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere at the two main Christmas markets. Prague Mayor Adriana Krnáčová and Prague 1 mayor Oldřich Lomecký served over 3,000 portions of the traditional Christmas soup which is made with cognac and caramel. The event took place amid heightened security.