Czech “Strange” Traditions: The Annual Carp Situation
(Yes, the fish in the bathtub is real.)
If you ever spend December in the Czech Republic, you may witness a quiet but very dramatic national ritual: killing a carp for Christmas. For Czechs, this is absolutely normal. For everyone else, it’s… a cultural earthquake.
Let’s walk through this beloved (and slightly bizarre) tradition step by step — with real Czech phrases, vocabulary, and cultural insights so you can fully appreciate the magic, the madness, and the smell.
Step 1: Buying Your Christmas Dinner — While It’s Still Alive
Around December 22–24, Czech streets bloom with blue plastic barrels full of live carp. Usually there is a man in waterproof trousers, smoking a cigarette, yelling things like:
Dva kapři? Tady máte!
Chcete ho zabít nebo živého?
Yes. You can politely ask for your dinner already dead, but many families proudly say: Ne, my si ho vezmeme živého. No, we’ll take him alive.
Because tradition!
Step 2: The Carp Moves In
Once purchased, the carp goes home in a plastic bag of water. And this is where Czech culture takes a spectacular turn.
He is placed into… the bathtub.
For days.
This means:
No one can shower. (Promiň, kapr je ve vaně.)
The bathroom smells like a small harbour.
The fish is confused. The children are delighted.
Children often name the carp. Common names include:
Karel
Míra
Bublina
Some kids even try to bond with it: Mami, Karel na mě mrknul! Meanwhile, the carp is silently questioning its life choices.
Step 3: Christmas Morning (Not Fun for the Carp)
On December 24th, the big moment comes. Traditionally, dad performs the execution, because Czech dads mysteriously inherit carp-handling genes.
Then:
The carp is killed,
cleaned,
sliced into fillets,
and prepared for dinner.
Children, who lovingly cared for Karel for two days, now face an emotional plot twist. (I became a vegetarian at the age of 11.)
Step 4: Večeře — The Holy Czech Meal
On Christmas Eve (yes, Eve, not Christmas Day!), the entire country sits down to:
smažený kapr – fried carp
bramborový salát – potato salad
It’s not Christmas without these. No matter how many modern recipes appear, the Czech soul says:
Bez kapra nejsou Vánoce.
Without carp, there is no Christmas.
Some families add:
rybí polévka — fish soup (made from the carp’s head and bones)
řízek — schnitzel (often for children or carp-skeptics)
Useful Vocabulary for Surviving Czech Christmas
If you manage to fast all day, you’re supposed to see the golden pig. Considering the whole carp-slaughter situation, that actually sounds like a pretty good deal.
Real Czech Phrases You’ll Hear:
Musíme koupit kapra. — We need to buy a carp.
Kapr nám plave ve vaně. — The carp is swimming in our bathtub.
Děti, nelijte tam šampon! — Kids, don’t pour shampoo in there!
Už je hotový salát? — Is the potato salad ready yet?
Dej si cukroví, to se nepočítá. — Have a cookie, it doesn't count.
Czech people know the carp tradition is… a little questionable. But that’s exactly why it’s charming. It’s one of those rituals that makes you say:
“Only in the Czech Republic.”
If you ever celebrate Christmas here, embrace the chaos: the cookies, the golden pig, the fortune-telling, and yes — the fish living rent-free in your bathtub. Because in the Czech Republic, it’s not weird… it’s tradition.
