In English, the name “Good Friday” is generally believed to be a corruption of “God’s Friday.” From very early times, the Holy Day has been observed by Christians everywhere as the most solemn feast of the year, a day of sadness, mourning, fasting and prayer, when the Passion and Death of our Lord is remembered in countless churches by services of sorrow and gratitude. Good Friday was always regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as the day of greatest grief in the Church. It’s the only day in the year when Mass is not held anywhere in the world. Also, organs are silent, all ornaments are cleared from the altar, and no lights are burned. The cross is shrouded in a black veil. Great Friday (Velký pátek) is the popular name for the day in the Czech Republic. Velký pátek is a day of fasting for Roman Catholics who will not eat meat until Saturday evening after the church bells start ringing on their legendary return from Rome. On Velký pátek, Czech and Moravian cooks prepare their holiday bread (coffee cake) which must not be cut or eaten until the priest says, “Christ is risen!” (Kristus vstal z mrtvých!) on...
The Czech government has approved a new drugs strategy to run until the end of 2025 that includes the introduction of a strictly regulated market in cannabis. The exact rules of the action plan are set to be set by an expert group, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The Czech Republic is considered one of the most liberal countries regarding cannabis legislation. Although its recreational use is still illegal, it decriminalized cannabis possession for personal use in 2010 and legalized medical cannabis in 2013. In addition, the Czech Republic is one of the few European countries that cultivate hemp with a THC content of up to 1% for industrial purposes. In comparison, other EU member state legislations have set the limit to about 0.2%, although the European Union recently decided to increase the THC level from 0.2% to 0.3% for authorized hemp crops used for industrial purposes. Hence, the regulation of the recreational market appears to be a natural path to follow for a country in which about 30% of the adults have tried cannabis, and 8% to 9% use it regularly, according to the Addiction Report released in August by the National Monitoring...
Three out of every four Czechs are dissatisfied with the food choices at supermarkets. Their discontent is primarily focused on the product’s quality, expensive prices, or a lack of supply on the shelves. Two-thirds of Czechs are ready to spend up to 50% more for higher-quality goods. According to an Ipsos for Meriton study, half of the Czechs polled were surprised that the food quality in supermarkets did not match the high price. A quarter of them complained about a dearth of higher-quality food, and one in every six wished for a more diverse variety of healthy foods. 87 percent of Czechs are more concerned about food quality than they were five years ago. As a result, artisanal goods and locally produced vegetables are becoming increasingly popular. Almost 70% of individuals think about the provenance of their food imports. When it comes to higher-quality and healthier meals, they prioritize composition (60%), price (45%), and nation of origin (41%). Czechs also read the ingredients of the food they buy in most cases. Only one-third of respondents were not interested in them. Seven out of ten respondents are willing to reach deeper into their wallets for higher-quality food; two-thirds would even pay...
The Czech Republic has announced some new rules regarding housing and free health insurance for Ukrainian refugees, which changes came into force on April 1 of this year. As reported by VisitUkraine.today (Ukrainian information portal for help), such a move came due to changes in the law on refugees from Ukraine, “Lex Ukraina V”, signed by the Czech president. The updated rules for free accommodation include the point that the maximum duration for free accommodation for Ukrainians is 150 days, starting from the date of receiving temporary protection. At the same time, the period of free accommodation before the entry into force of Lex Ukraine V should also be taken into account. Based on these new rules, Ukrainian citizens will lose their right to free housing if they refuse to live in the apartment or leave it without a good reason. This means that the person has exhausted the maximum term. In addition, if the 150-day period has already been exhausted before the entry into force of Lex Ukraina V or within 90 days thereafter, then there remains a protection period of 90 days from the date of entry into force of Lex Ukraina V. As a result, Ukrainian refugees...
After eleven years, DámeJdlo.cz, a network for eatery delivery, is rebranding. It will now operate under the name foodora. The company announced it in a press release, adding that the change will be gradual. Smartphone owners will be the first to notice the rebranding in mid-April. The update will be accessible for the first time to iOS users on April 11, and for Android users a few days later, on April 17. In addition to the name and logo change, foodora will also offer new services. These include a PRO subscription, for which customers will get free delivery, discounts on personal order pick-up and other discount promotions. The foodora brand is operated by Delivery Hero, which has owned DámeJídlo.cz since 2015. It operates in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In addition to the Czech Republic, it will expand to Slovakia, Hungary and Austria from May. DameJidlo recently announced the expansion of its services to deliver purchases from e-shops under the name Dáme Delivery. DameJidlo.cz was launched in October 2010 by Tomas Cupr and quickly became one of the largest food ordering platforms in the Czech Republic.
Czech Post will shut 56 offices in the Moravian-Silesian Region by the middle of this year, followed by Prague, which will lose 35 branches. Česká pošta will shut between 13 and 24 branches in the remaining areas. In total, the number of branches is to be reduced by 300 to 2,900 by 1 July. The cuts are necessitated by a sharp decline in demand for postal services. According to newly approved regulations every municipality of over 2,500 people must have a post office within a distance of three kilometers, not two which was the previous norm. The move has raised concern among elderly people living in small villages whose branch is due to close. Opava Mayor Tomáš Navrátil (ANO) considers the plan an outrage. “The situation is even worse because we learned about it from the media. No one from the management or the ministry discussed this matter with us. We do not agree with this step and will initiate negotiations with the post office,” he said, adding that he did not yet know which Opava branches would be closed. “I have promised that the mayors will be the first to know which branch of the post office will be...
Allegro is preparing to launch its marketplace in the Czech Republic, according to a post on its website Allegro.cz. The post says that “One of the largest European marketplaces is coming to the Czech Republic” and that “The final countdown begins. Soon.” Allegro has been expanding internationally for some time. It acquired Czech e-commerce platform Mall Group and logistics business WeDo in April. It also launched an English language version of its flagship site Allegro.pl in early 2022. “Our team is now focused on the upcoming launch of Allegro.cz in the Czech Republic,” said Roy Perticucci, CEO of the company. The Polish group already took the first steps towards the integration last year, when the logos of CZC and Mall e-shops were marked “by Allegro”. The Polish group also launched the “Smart!” service in the Czech Republic, offering free delivery of selected goods to Mall customers, a service that has been offered by Allegro in Poland since 2018. Allegro is looking to keep costs down and adapts to consumers spending less. “There was what we call trading down starting to be more visible in the fourth quarter,” finance chief Jon Eastick said in an interview. “Category by category people are taking cheaper options because they know they need money for their...
The last living Czech pilot who fought the Nazis while serving with Britain’s Royal Air Force during World War II has died at age 100, A community center for war veterans in the Czech Republic city of Brno, his hometown, said Bocek died on Saturday. The Czech Defense Ministry confirmed his death. No further details were given. “General Bocek was fighting for our country to be democratic, free and independent,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. Born Feb 25, 1923, Bocek fled Czechoslovakia in 1939 at age 16 following the country’s occupation by Germany. He fought the Nazis in France and then moved to Britain, where he served as a technician in the air force’s No. 312 Squadron before joining the RAF’s No. 310 Squadron as a pilot in 1944. Both fighter squadrons had Czechoslovak pilots.
Within a few weeks, a RМ-70 rocket launcher along and 365 missiles will be transferred to Ukraine from the Czech Republic. However, this is not part of and aid package from the government, but is the result of €1.2 million donations made by Czech citizens. The launcher can fire 40 missiles in 90 seconds and can reload exceptionally quickly. “Today we have exceeded USD 1.3 million (€1.2 million) , our goal is more than USD 2.3 million (€2.4 million). The launcher costs almost USD 784,000 (€730,000),” said Martin Ondráček, author of the donation project, dubbed ‘A Gift to Putin’. In one year, more than 120,000 contributors have more than 18 million euros in aid to Ukraine. After the full-scale Russian invasion in February, they immediately started sending money to the Ukrainian Embassy account. However, interest in the account slowly waned. Now, they aim at raising funds to help care for wounded soldiers. Dalibo Dedek, an entrepreneur involved in the project, said that the problem is that the cause of human suffering is “military aggression” and “that cannot be stopped with words, only actions”. Inflatable tanks Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked a surge in demand for weapons and vehicles, with...
In 2022, Czech Republic’s tourism income were almost CZK 51.2 billion higher than a year earlier. Data provided by VisitCzech Republic, the official website of the Czech National Tourist Board, also revealed that the revenue, in total, was about CZK 118 billion. The same source shows that the country has now exceeded the figure of CZK 100 billion, even though it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. According to these data, the balance of tourism was also positive, namely two billion crowns. The Czech Republic’s income from tourism in 2021 was CZK 66.8 billion, compared to CZK 83 billion the year before, in 2020, while in 2019, revenues were CZK 167 billion. Ukrainians Contributed Most to Czechia’s Tourism in 2022 In this regard, the head of the Tourism Institute of the Czech Tourism Headquarters – CzechTourism revealed that Ukraine contributed the most to the Czech Republic’s income from tourism in 2022, with almost CZK 42 billion. He also noted that Ukraine was followed by Germany with CZK 17.7 billion and Poland with CZK 12.3 billion. At the same time, Slovakia also contributed CZK 12.3 billion and the United States of America with nearly three billion crowns. Almost 20 Million Tourists...
Goods from thousands of e-shops in one location – this is the future of e-commerce as online platforms take over the Western world. It’s no different in the Czech Republic, where Germany’s Kaufland and Poland’s Allegro are both competing this year. The Big Players Lacked Competition Until now, the market has been controlled almost completely by the most well-known domestic e-commerce companies, Heureka Group, Mall Group, and Alza. Their market dominance, however, may be fading as the online world is being taken over by platforms, with several major names trying the Czech online scene. This year, Kaufland and Allegro will debut their markets in the Czech Republic. The Mall Group owns Allegro in Poland, the world’s tenth biggest internet marketplace. Seznam is also preparing to open a marketplace next year. Kaufland, which debuted the German marketplace Kaufland.de in 2021, has over 40 million products from over 8000 vendors. “Among them are a number of Czech merchants who have been selling effectively on the German marketplace. “We are excited to launch two new marketplaces in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Kaufland.cz and Kaufland.sk, on which we are currently focusing,” said spokeswoman Renata Maierl. According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey,...
A Czech medical volunteer who, as part of the Phoenix project, was helping with the treatment of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line, was killed over the weekend. The spokesman for the Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed it on Monday. This is the second such case in the last year. The Phoenix project said in a Facebook post that the volunteer is being transported home to the Czech Republic. “One of our brave medical volunteers in Donbas received shrapnel wounds. His condition has stabilized now, but the situation is serious and it is impossible to predict developments. We are doing everything in our power so that he can return to his homeland as soon as possible,” it was stated yesterday. The victim was an important member of the Phoenix group, who saved 25 people during the last trip alone. As reported, as part of the Phoenix project, Czech medics in eastern Ukraine train soldiers to provide first aid and transport the wounded from the front lines. Since the onset of the conflict, the Phoenix Association has been involved on the front lines in Ukraine, beginning in April 2022. Comprised of volunteers, the group offers material and medical assistance during battles and in areas affected...
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