Retro Museum Prague: The exhibition recalls how Christmas was celebrated in the 70s and 80s
The exhibition of the Prague Retro Museum in the Kotva department store reminds visitors of Christmas during the times of socialism. The exhibition does not miss anything that is inherent to the Christmas atmosphere of the 70s and 80s, from the traditional uniform decoration of the time, through the classic Christmas Eve board to the most desired gifts. Blown glass ornaments from the Jablonex factory have become one of the biggest symbols specific to Christmas in socialist Czechoslovakia, which are exported all over the world, and many families still keep them today, because they simply cannot imagine a Christmas tree without them.
Czechs most often bought or ate spruce as a Christmas tree, and nothing has changed to this day, but with the exception of households that want to save themselves the work of cleaning and live trees, they prefer artificial ones, which for three kings just need to be wrapped in a box and done. In the 1970s and 1980s, the decoration of the tree did not differ much within neighboring households, the already mentioned glass balls, dried oranges, but also, for example, straw natural decorations, typical for Moravian households, were inherent. The difference from today was, among other things, also the stands for the trees, which today are nowhere near as colorful and cheesy as those fifty years ago.
Christmas in the 70s and 80s at the Retro Museum Prague
Author: Jiří Koťátko
Despite all the shortages, the Christmas collection had to be available in the 70s and 80s. This purely Czechoslovak specialty can also be seen in the Retro Museum, the collections were produced by companies such as Orion Praha, Maryša Rohatec and Zora Olomouc and started already in the summer to satisfy demand. Fondant lounges, jelly arabe truffle figures were available in packages weighing 250-1000 grams, and those or light, multi-tiered, were available for purchase at Tuzex.
The exhibition also includes a sample of a typical Christmas Eve board, which, together with ornaments made of twigs, holds a bottle of Saint Wenceslas red wine. A patterned blackboard with festive cutlery, a tray full of sweets and glittering decorations also counts one extra place laid according to tradition.
An integral part of Christmas is, of course, the Christmas gift, which is probably the most different today compared to the 70s and 80s. Among the most requested gifts were skis, an Eska bike, Merkur kits or dolls. The Ites folding car track was the gem that ensured every boy a certain place in any group of friends. Visitors who didn’t experience this time, or whose parents couldn’t afford the auto track for half a salary, don’t need to despair, because at the exhibition they can try it out in all its glory, and even four racers at once.
Christmas in the 70s and 80s at the Retro Museum Prague
Author: Jiří Koťátko
The Prague Retro Museum in OD Kotva is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the Christmas and New Year holidays, with a visit on December 24, when the opening hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.