By day, strolling along the streets of Prague, a very different Christmas tradition was on display – the Christmas carp. Traditionally served for Christmas dinner on December 24th, the fish can be purchased live from barrels on the street. Some people take them home and keep them alive in the bathtub for a few days before preparing them for dinner. Others have them killed, scaled and gutted right there on the street. As you can imagine, this makes for a bit of a bloody mess in the snow. Not the most festive sight, but if you have the stomach to watch, the fish sellers are amazingly skilled.

I was very lucky on this trip to have the opportunity to enjoy Christmas dinner in a Czech home. Along with the carp, which was breaded and fried, potato salad was served, as was a delicious barley dish with dried mushrooms. Interestingly, the Czech carp, much like my Canadian turkey, is really only served at Christmas. Equally interesting, in both cases, many of us are more in love with the idea of the dish, than with the actual dish itself. However, as a tourist, everything was new and exciting and delicious to me.

Back home, I haven’t added carp to my Christmas table, but I highly recommend adding a splash of rum to your hot chocolate. Na zdravi!

Last updated: 25th February, 2018