Prague lit a tree on the Old Town Square, but there was no celebration again
As last year and this year, due to the coronavirus, the lighting had to do without the traditional big festivities, and the city did not notify them in advance due to the worsening epidemic situation.
Based on the government’s decision on Thursday, there will be no Christmas markets in the Old Town Square this year. City officials criticized the decision on Friday.
The spruce arrived in Prague on Sunday, and on the night of Monday to Tuesday, the city company Technology of the Capital City of Prague (THMP) took it from the landfill in Hostivař on the square. He grew up in a private garden in the Jizera Mountains.
they planned to cut him down anyway, so they decided to compete in Prague every year.
Since Tuesday, the THMP staff has been decorating the spruce about 22.5 meters high, the lighting ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, along with the canceled opening of the Christmas markets.
“We should not forget at this time that we cannot influence everything around us, but we can certainly try to awaken consideration around us and thus contribute to the situation, so I thank everyone who follows the measures,” he said at the light. tree mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates).
Christmas markets on Peace Square
Video: Zuzana Křesťanová, News
According to an earlier statement by the company’s director Tomáš Jílek, THMP employees decorated six kilometers of light chains this year.
At the top is a two-meter-shaped star-shaped point. The branch tree is then decorated with 240 red and gold balls evoking the colors of the capital, ie red and yellow, and 40 snowflakes.
City officials on Friday criticized the government for Thursday’s decision to ban Christmas markets from 6pm on Friday.
According to them, it does not make sense to keep shopping centers open, but the sale of Christmas goods in outdoor stalls was made impossible.
In this context, the city administration called on the state to approve special compensation for traders as soon as possible. Resigned Ministry Alena Schillerová (YES) told Czech Television that she plans to open the issue of additional compensation for stallholders to the government.
Christmas tree lighting
Photo: News