Christmas is coming! Two Christmas trees, a nativity scene and the now-traditional ferris wheel have been installed in preparation for the Christmas season, which begins this Friday. While many aspects of this year’s celebrations are dampened, citizens can send their festive wishes to TIC Brno or contribute to worthy causes. Photo credit: KB / BD.
Brno, Nov 23 (BD) – Christmas installations can already be seen around Brno city centre. A ferris wheel stands on Moravske namesti, two Christmas trees are up – one in Zelny Trh and one on namesti Svobody – and a nativity scene was constructed on Dominikanske namesti. The Brno Christmas Festival will begin this Friday, November 27th and last until January 3rd, 2021.
The Christmas feeling is growing in Brno. People are often surprised, even dismayed, to see Christmas decorations stocked on shelves as early as October. As it dawns on us that Christmas is almost here, we suddenly get a sense of how quickly the year has passed.
As this year has been tough for many of us, there may be mixed emotions at the thought that it’s nearly Christmas time already, including relief that the year will soon be over, regret for how the year could have been better spent, sadness and longing for the people we wish we could be with or perhaps the excitement of planning Christmas. For many, this time of year is full of emotion, and thoughts of loved ones, young and old.
On the other hand, maybe the moments of innocence and joy of Christmas can bring us a moment of peace as we tackle the challenges of the new normal, such as seeing the heartfelt joy of a child standing at the foot of a sparkling Christmas tree, or a toddler seeing snow for the first time in their life.
While Christmas markets on the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square in Prague were cancelled, Brno is going ahead with preparations for this year’s festival. Christmas lights and decorations will fill the streets to provide a pleasant Christmassy walk with loved ones. Depending on the epidemiological measures at the time, market stalls will be in place, but at safe distances from each other.
A huge Christmas tree now stands on Zelny trh, and the ferris wheel has been erected on Moravske namesti. This weekend, the iconic nativity scene created by Jiri Halouzka was installed on Dominikanske namesti. On Saturday, a 14-metre tree from Bilovice forest was transported to namesti Svobody by horse-drawn carriage following a near 100-year tradition. The festival will officially begin this coming Friday.
This is what you will find in the city squares…
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”269″ gal_title=”xmas installations 2020″]Photo credit: KB / BD.
Send a message to the Christmas tree by emailing message@brnenskevanoce.cz or share your message on social networks with the hashtag #brnenskevanoce #vzkazstromu. These messages will be displayed in a public gallery.
As this Christmas may not be an easy one for everyone, consider those in need and ways we can give back this Christmas. Consider the homeless as winter approaches, and donate clothes, blankets and shoes to the municipal closet on the first Wednesday of the month (December 2nd) between 4pm and 8pm or by appointment. The collection is run by the City of Brno’s Department of Social Care at Křenová 20.
Consider children whose parents are serving prison sentences and contribute to the Angel Tree Collection to help give them a gift this Christmas. The gifts which parents in prison want to send are often dolls, figurines of comic book heroes, remote control cars, school supplies, backpacks, headphones, kits, cosmetics, games, etc. and cost approximately CZK 500. People can bring the gift to a contact point at the Department of Health office at Dominikanske namesti 3. Due to the current measures, gifts will be received at the gatehouse and will then be passed on to the event organisers. More information can be found at www.andelskystrom.cz.
Remember to be safe this advent and avoid crowded places.
