Saint Nicholas has visited our faculty

  • Michal Stoklasa
  • 06.12.2019
As every year, it is necessary to celebrate the Advent and Christmas season in order to familiarize our foreign students with local customs and traditions. It was no different this year when we could welcome a record number of students from all over the world.

That is why, in the first week of December, a popular event called “St. Nicholas Day” was organised. However, this celebration was held in the university canteen for the first time because of a high number of attending students from China, Turkey, Uzbekistan and India. We must not forget our Czech “buddies” who participated in the organisation of an unusual afternoon and became invaluable during this successful event.

The Vice-dean for International Relations, doc. RNDr. Ing. Roman Šperka, Ph.D. opened the event and welcomed students on St. Nicholas Day. The opening ceremony was followed by a presentation about Advent and Christmas, which the students followed thoroughly. They were most fascinated by finding out about endless love and fertility when kissing under the mistletoe when even some students took the mistletoe home. It is hard to say what they did with it and how it went on in the evening.


At the end of the presentation, there was an unexpected surprise in the form of a "Black List", on which the greatest scamps of the faculty were evaluated. Saint Nicholas, Angel and Devil could hear that information and that is why they came to act! Each member mentioned on the Black List had to fulfil one of the drawn tasks, such as questions about Czech culture and pantomime. This part of the evening definitely enlivened the atmosphere, as some of the brave folks even used the dance floor to show off the funniest creations. The rest of the evening went on in a very friendly atmosphere, as the valuable conversation was enriched with our Czech Christmas snacks and mulled wine.

We believe that this extraordinary experience has enriched the stay of foreign students in Karviná and we are very glad that we could present at least part of our Czech culture and traditions.