My Czech Roots

13/01/2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/travel/the-worlds-most-powerful-passports-for-2026

When it comes to shorter lines at border control and traveling from country to country without restrictions, there’s an elite tier of passports with more clout than others.

24/12/2025

16/04/2025

Czech Easter Traditions Pomlázka, Kraslice, and More

Easter is a significant time for Czechs, with celebrations steeped in symbolism and tradition. Many Czech Easter traditions hold deep religious meanings, serving as a reminder of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One such tradition is the blessing of the Easter basket, which is filled with various foods that symbolize different aspects of the Easter story. Eggs, representing new life and the resurrection, are often prominently featured, alongside bread, lamb-shaped cakes, and other traditional foods. The basket is then taken to the church to be blessed by the priest, with the belief that this will bring good luck and prosperity for the year to come.

https://www.czechjournal.cz/czech-easter-traditions-pomlazka-kraslice-and-more/

03/12/2023

In the Czech Republic, Christmas gifts are delivered by Ježíšek (i.e. the Christ Child) and this has been the tradition for over 400 years. Up until the 1500s, Svatý Mikuláš (i.e. Saint Nikolas) had been celebrated as the bringer of gifts and he visited homes on December 6th. The demotion of Svatý Mikuláš and the promotion of Ježíšek was promulgated by Martin Luther in the 1500s as part of the Protestant Reformation. The change in gift bringers hoped to draw attention to the child for whom Christmas was named. Many Christians adopted this gift bringer, the Christ Child or Ježíšek or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.
The Christ child/Christkind/Christkindl/Ježíšek is the traditional Christmas gift-bringer in Austria, Switzerland, southern & western Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the eastern part of Belgium, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, parts of northeastern France, Upper Silesia in Poland, parts of Latin America, in certain areas of southern Brazil, and in the Acadiana region of Louisiana.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christkind

06/04/2023

Happy Easter from MyCzechRoots! May this Easter bring you love peace, hope, and joy.

Here's the low-down on the almost week-long Czech Easter.

12/12/2022

The Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" tells the story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second day of Christmas). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step, through the deep snow. The legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935).

19th century English hymn "Good King Wenceslas" by John Mason Neale performed by a traditional choir with lyrics. Visit my blog at http://life-incessant.blog...

05/11/2022

Bohemian Rhapsody - how our grandparents used to live

DocumentalAño: 1969Duración: 15 min.País: ChecoslovaquiaDirector: Vojtech JasnýMúsica: Svatopluk HavelkaFotografía: Jaroslav Kucera

20/07/2022

If one of your parents or grandparents ever had Czechoslovak citizenship, you might be eligible to claim dual Czech citizenship based on your ancestry. The process to obtain Czech citizenship through your ancestry is fairly simple and MyCzechRoors offers such services: https://www.myczechroots.com/our-services/dual-czech-citizenship

Once again, Asia leads the way in the Henley Passport Index's guide to the world's most powerful passports. But after sharing the crown for most of the year, one country has now claimed the top spot for itself

07/07/2022

162 years ago on 7 June 1860, the composer Gustav Mahler was born in Bohemian village Kaliště. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect, which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the N**i era. After 1945 his compositions were rediscovered by a new generation of listeners, Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century.
https://english.radio.cz/born-bohemiabut-forgotten-czechs-8570334

22/04/2022

The history of CzechiaSamo's Empire - 626-658Great Moravia - 820-907Duchy of Bohemia - 870-1198Kingdom of Bohemia - 1085-1092, 1158-1172, 1198-1804Czechoslov...

13/04/2022

We wish you a happy Easter !

The Easter holidays are just behind the corner, so it's about time we talk about the sheer wonder and awkwardness of the Czech Easter holidays and arguably their most shocking aspect to foreign visitors: the famous "pomlázka". Let’s be honest here: Pomlázka is a godsend if you run food