Country Museums Kick Off Christmas Festivities on Advent’s Opening Weekend
Haná Christmas in Grutna
On Saturday November 29 2025, the Haná Museum in Nature is hosting an event called Haná Christmas. Attendees will get to enjoy traditional Advent and Christmas customs set in the true atmosphere of the Haná countryside. The event will showcase a Haná Christmas Eve table, and both young and older guests will have the chance to experiment with baking and decorating gingerbread cookies, participate in shoe-throwing, or watch flying boats. At 14:00, the Pantla folklore singing group will perform, singing well-known and some lesser-known carols, taking everyone through the Advent season and demonstrating certain Christmas customs. Guided tours led by Josef Kameníček will happen at 11:00, 13:00, and 15:00.
Christmas on Merry Hill and in the Bethlehem in Aluminium
The Highlands Museum of Nature invites everyone to Christmas events at Merry Hill and the Bethlehem Memorial Reserve in Hlinsko. The popular program Christmas at Veselý Kopec will start on Saturday 29 November and will continue until Sunday 7 December. The beautifully decorated log cabins at Veselý Kopec will showcase how Christmas was celebrated from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. Guests will discover what essential items made up the Christmas Eve table and how people typically celebrated that night. Throughout the events, visitors can watch demonstrations of making Christmas items, including how to paint glass ornaments, craft decorations from glass beads, create straw ornaments, or bake gingerbread houses using wooden molds. At the end of their visit, kids can take part in the Veselokopec crib and play the role of gift-givers. On weekends, the festive atmosphere will be enhanced by musical performances. On Saturday 6 December, St. Nicholas and his entourage will make an appearance at Veselý Kopec. The program will conclude on Sunday 7 December with an Advent Fair, featuring selected and invited craftsmen from various regions of the Czech Republic.
In Hlinsko, the Bethlehem will open on 10 December to unveil a Christmas program titled Christmas Nativity scene. Visitors can experience this program until January 10, 2026. Here, guests will enjoy beautifully decorated log cabins that recreate the atmosphere of Christmas traditions from the mid-1800s through the 1940s. They will learn about the Gifts children could find under the Christmas tree back then as well as the traditional dishes that were staples on Christmas Eve tables 100 years ago and their significance. There will also be a captivating mechanical nativity scene featuring figures crafted by Mr. Rudolf Frinta from Nové Město nad Metují, which showcases different trades, created about 50 years ago.
Christmas customs of Czechs and Germans in Zubrnice
The two remaining outdoor museums will soon kick-off their Christmas programs. On Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 December, you are invited to the Zubrnice Open Air Museum to enjoy Christmas in Zubrnice, where the focus will be on Advent and Christmas customs pertaining to the Czech Germans from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The aroma of freshly baked Christmas cake from the tiled stove will fill the air, and everyone will get inspired by traditional decorations from St. Nicholas’ Day, including devils, polka dots, braids, and trees adorned with apples, nuts, and gingerbread. A charming Christmas photo booth will be available for those wanting to capture memories. Kids can enjoy a Christmas story, horseback rides, or create a small keepsake in the workshops each day.
Rich Christmas programme of the Wallachian Museum in Rožnov
The Rožnov Wallachian Open Air Museum has a special event lined up for Friday 5 December, which includes a tour of the Wallachian Heritage area alongside St. Nicholas gift giving. St. Nicholas Eve celebrations will start at 14:00. Enjoy animated displays filled with pre-Christmas cheer, caroling, and the delicious aromas of St. Nicholas pastries, gingerbread, and teas made with nine flowers. Admission is free for children up to 15 years old. The following weekend, 13 and 14 December, a Christmas Fair will take place, allowing visitors to relish the atmosphere of folk Christmas in the Wallachian countryside with lively attractions. You will witness trick-or-treating, the playful antics of Lucek and the Devil, and Cooking bounty, along with other events unfolding not just in the village but also in the Wooden Town. Just before Christmas Eve, on 20 and 21 December, there will be a popular living nativity scene. The final Christmas program at the Wallachian Open Air Museum is set for 26 December with A Christmas Carol. The Christmas concert at St. Anne’s Church will start at 1:00 PM and will have another session at 3:00 PM.
