Czech Holidays and Traditions for Expats: What to Know

Czech holidays shape the practical side of life as much as the cultural side: shops, offices and public services change their hours, and some traditions are very different from what newcomers expect. This guide covers the public holidays, the main customs and what to plan for.

Czech Public Holidays

The Czech Republic has 13 public holidays. Easter dates move each year, so check the current calendar.

Many Czechs also take the days between Christmas and New Year off. Large shops have restricted opening on some public holidays and close early on 24 December, so check current opening rules and stock up beforehand. Offices, banks and public services are generally closed on public holidays.

Christmas

The main celebration is on the evening of 24 December. The traditional dinner is fried carp with potato salad, although fish soup comes first in many families and some households now serve schnitzel or another dish instead. Carp is sold live from street stalls in the weeks before Christmas, which surprises many newcomers.

Gifts are brought by Ježíšek (Baby Jesus) on Christmas Eve, not by Santa Claus or a stocking. St Nicholas (Mikuláš) visits on the evening of 5 December, often with an angel and a devil, and brings children sweets and fruit. Sweet baked treats include vánočka, a braided yeast bread, and vánoční cukroví, assorted Christmas biscuits. Christmas markets run from the end of November, and in Prague they are in the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. Dates and opening times change each year, so check current listings.

Easter

Easter (Velikonoce) is a spring folk holiday. On Easter Monday, boys and men traditionally go door to door and playfully tap girls and women with a braided willow whip called a pomlázka, and are rewarded with painted eggs, sweets or a small drink. The custom is lighter-hearted than it sounds, and you may be asked to take part, so it helps to know what is going on. Painted eggs and Easter markets are common in the weeks before.

Other Traditions Through the Year

• Burning of the Witches (30 April): Bonfires are lit in the evening in many towns and villages to mark the end of winter.
• May Day (1 May): Couples traditionally visit a blossoming cherry tree and kiss, and Petřín Hill in Prague is a popular place for it.
• Grape harvest festivals (September and October): Moravian wine regions hold festivals, and young wine (burčák) is a seasonal speciality. Our Czech wine guide has more.
• Dušičky (1 to 2 November): On All Saints’ and All Souls’ days, people light candles and leave flowers on the graves of relatives. Cemeteries glow in the evening.
• Folk festivals: Spring and summer bring local fairs and folk festivals with music, dancing and costumes, especially in Moravia.

Food and Drink

Seasonal food is part of most holidays: carp and potato salad at Christmas, mazanec (a sweet Easter bread) in spring and svíčková or roast pork with dumplings and cabbage at family meals. Hot mulled wine (svařák) is sold at winter markets. See our guide to traditional Czech food for more dishes.

Practical Tips for Expats

• Plan errands around public holidays, because offices, banks and many shops close or change hours.
• Book travel and restaurants early for Christmas and Easter weekends, and for the long weekends when a holiday falls near a Friday or Monday.
• Expect a quiet city on 24 December and some of the days around it, as many people travel to family.
• Keep valuables safe in crowded markets and events, where pickpockets operate. Our guide to common scams covers what to watch for.
• Ask colleagues and neighbours about local customs. People are usually happy to explain and often invite foreigners to join in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main holidays in the Czech Republic?

The Czech Republic has 13 public holidays, including New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Liberation Day on 8 May, the 5 and 6 July holidays, the 28 September and 28 October state holidays, 17 November and Christmas on 24 to 26 December. The full list is in the table above.

Who brings Christmas presents in the Czech Republic?

Ježíšek (Baby Jesus) brings gifts on the evening of 24 December. St Nicholas visits on 5 December with sweets.

Are shops open on public holidays?

Large shops are restricted on most public holidays, while smaller shops, petrol stations and some food stores may stay open. Opening rules change, so check current rules and the shop’s own hours.

For more on settling in, see our guide to living in Prague and our culture and etiquette guide.

Jan Marek

I’m Jan, a Czech writer, hiker and travel guide born in Bohemia and based in Prague. I’ve been writing about my home country for 9 years, and I know it the way you only do when you’ve grown up here: the trail signs that locals actually follow, the pubs that aren’t in any guidebook, the castles that get overlooked because they’re not on a tour bus route.

Over 9 years I’ve covered every corner of the Czech Republic, from the Krkonoše ridges and Šumava forests to the wine cellars of South Moravia and the spa towns of West Bohemia. I’ve taken 40+ solo trips across Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Austria and I write in Czech and English, which means I can read the local hiking forums, regional news and municipal information that never gets translated.

My writing covers three areas: practical solo travel in Czechia (getting around by train and bus, hiking safely, visiting castles and landmarks without the crowds), expat and long-term living (the cultural surprises, the bureaucracy, what it actually costs, how the healthcare and transport systems work), and off-the-radar Czech Republic, the places most visitors never reach because they spend all their time in Prague.

Prague is extraordinary, but it’s maybe 10% of what this country has to offer. The rest is what I’m here to write about.