St Mikulas, the Angel and the Devil

On Friday we celebrated the first of the Czech Christmas traditions for kids. "The evening before St. Nicholas Day, December 5, St. Nicholas strolls around the city, accompanied by an Angel and a Devil, visiting children and handing out presents. First, he asks the children whether they have been good and if not, they must promise they will be better next year. In Central Europe, there is no association of this St. Nicholas with the Western character..Santa Claus.... The St. Nicholas tradition is based on the legend of St. Nicholas, a bishop who lived in the 4th century in Asia Minor and was renowned for his religious life and charity. St. Nicholas gives presents in all Slavic countries. This tradition became very popular and the character of St. Nicholas, dressed in a long coat with a crosier in his hand, is now always accompanied by a devil and an angel, representing the antimony of good and evil" Prague Info Service.
St Mikulas asked Nikita to sing a song for her gift to show she was good - she sang Jingle bells. The adults celebrated with traditional warm red wine or warm honey wine and food.

The night before I went to the Prague Fringe Comedy Festival and saw Julie Morris' show. She is an Australian comedian living in London. She was very funny, excellent quick-moving stage show. I think you had to be Australian to catch some of the jokes, as often I felt like I was the only one laughing(and the English lady, that I went with, agreed). We had drinks after the show with Julie and she said she could tell the pockets in the audience that were Australian.