Veselé Vánoce! It’s Christmas Eve, traditionally the most important day for Czechs in this holiday season of good cheer. It is on this day that Christmas presents are exchanged – left under the tree by Ježíšek (the Baby Jesus) – following a meal of fried carp and potato salad. Known as Štědrý den, or “generous day”, December 24 is traditionally a day for fasting before feasting (in that no meat is served). And for generations of Czechs, it is also a time for enjoying televised fairytales about princes and paupers, damsels and devils.