You are not singing carols in public this year. But listening to them at home is one of the few certainties of this Christmas. “What people are used to going to Rybovka (Christmas Mass), I think is quite endangered,” worries the priest Marek František Drábek.
And the traditional midnight mass? Under the current conditions, it will only be possible for a maximum of six people to remain silent instead of singing. Somewhere they are planning a modern alternative and the services are to be streamed.
Like Christmas markets, the popular lighting of the tree in many cities has a stop sign this year. Every year, people also gather at tubs with scales or when choosing Christmas trees. “The sale of Christmas trees should not be a problem,” thinks Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček (for YES).
However, sellers are counting on the worst, and some have started offering trees online. In many households, the share will also be poorer than ever before under the tree, because the crisis must be saved.
Who already buys, mostly online. Online retailers are experiencing a harvest and may not need to introduce discounts. Transport services are already seeing a huge increase in orders. “Last week it was 50% more year-on-year,” says Czech Post spokesman Matyáš Vitík.
Even the New Year celebrations will not be as we know them. “It will be forbidden to use fireworks by the water, in nature parks, but also in the entire monument zone in the city center,” warns Prague Councilor Petr Hlubuček (STAN). Already, some cities are also abolishing traditional fireworks or videomapping.
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