Czech Christmas Superstitious Dinner Customs

·         No light is to be lit in the house before the first star comes out. Dinner is served afterwards. An odd number of guests brings bad luck or death.

·         The legs of the table are to be tied with a rope to protect the house from thieves in the following years.

·         No one should sit with their back to the door.

·         Dinner should consist of nine courses.

·         No alcohol to be served on Christmas Eve.

·         Getting up from the Christmas table before dinner is finished will bring bad luck and death.

·         No one should leave anything on the plate.

·         The first person to leave the table after dinner will be the first one to die in the coming year. Therefore everyone should get up from the table simultaneously.

·         Leftover food should be buried around the trees. This will get a lot of fruit.

·         All household animals should be fed after dinner.