Carp diem! Christmas dinner in the Czech Republic
Carp. We know them as overgrown goldfish that live in ornamental ponds. But many Central and Eastern Europeans know them as Christmas dinner.
There’s nothing like a fresh, clean fish, right? Christmas dinner planners usually buy living carp a few days before Christmas from a carp stall in the local market.
“I think my kid took a carp in the bath”
”Would you please stop carping on about it!”
The lucky carp’s temporary new home is the family bathtub. Just before cooking, the carp comes out of the bathtub for an untimely and brutal meeting with a mallet. Holy carp!
As a result, many families have found their Christmas dinner plans spoiled. Because what happens when you mix live animals with children? The carp quickly stops becoming a Christmas meal and instead gets a name and the protection of a loving child.
It’s probably no surprise that many families now opt to outsource their carp malleting to someone else and take them home ‘pre-bludgeoned’.
Bonus Bubblegum
But why choose a fatty, bony, muddy, invasive species for Christmas dinner? The tradition dates back to the Middle Ages when Catholic families ate fish on Christmas Eve - the last day of the Advent fast. Fish is considered a ‘fasting’ food so it’s an acceptable alternative to meat.
But why carp? There’s just a lot of lakes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Lots of lakes mean lots of carp!
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Image credits: Kafkadesk
