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Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)

Today we came across an article in the Prague Daily Monitor (PDM) named “Half of Czechs say there are too many foreigners in ČR. ” The title immediately caught our attention. Today, there are almost 2 million Czechs living abroad. The largest numbers of Czechs live in the USA, the country of people from around of world that has for hundreds of years accepted people from many countries. On the other hand, the Czech Republic is still mostly composed of Czechs (about 94%), followed by Slovaks, Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, etc. The influx of immigrants for 2009 is estimated to be about 1 per 1000 people = 10,200 foreigners. During communism, there was a very minor foreign immigration to the Czech Republic. Did the recently growing numbers of immigrants create a resistance to other cultures?

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Manhattan New York

The Czech Republic is getting lots of attention during its EU Presidency. During its six month presidency rotation we can expect many activities organized by the Czech government. The theme for this presidency rotation is “Europe without Barriers.” To prove the barriers can be overcome, two concerts in London and New York were performed by musicians from different countries or by people that have never played together before. The outcome of both concerts was very positive - all musicians were able to communicate with each other without long practice and preparation and the audience was thrilled.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole (Kliknete na “Read the rest …”)

Here we have the first feedback from the celebration of the 19th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in California. Czechs and Slovaks met in San Diego on the beach to a pleasant evening full of music (including guitars and a banjo), food, drinks and interesting conversations. Comfortable weather in California did not call for warm clothing and a large bonfire only added to a pleasant environment. People roasted almost everything: bread, bagels, bacon, American and Polish sausages and more. There was more than enough wood, thus, even children had their own fire for their entertainment.

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Clanek v CESTINE dole (Kliknete na “Read the rest of this entry”)

Every year, on the 2^nd of November, the Czechs and Slovaks celebrate Dusicky a.k.a. Pamatka zesnulych (All Souls’ Day) by putting candles by graves of their loved ones.  All Souls’ Day is celebrated after All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1), and it was introduced by a French abbot Odilio. This holiday, however, is much older. It dates back from the Celtic tradition of Samhain, the Celtic New Year, when our world blends with the world of souls. That night people placed candles by their houses so the souls of the dead could find their ways to them.

All Souls’ Day is celebrated around the world, but in different forms. In the United States, Australia, Ireland, etc., is celebrated under the name Halloween. The name was taken from the original name All Hallow’s Even, and was founded in the 19th century. People in the countries named above believe that on this night, the human world and the world of souls connect and the dead walk freely on Earth in forms of skeletons, mummies, etc., and therefore people wear costumes to blend with them. Read the rest of this entry (Čtětě více ZDE) »

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

As you may recall, we announced some upcoming improvements to our site. Now, our new site is here with many new and exciting features and more to come. Would you like to know what is new? Here is the list:

SIDEBAR FEATURES:

CZECH AND SLOVAK NAME DAYS

Yes, you can see all Czech and Slovak name days. Holidays are also listed.

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Christmas time is always special in the Czech Republic. You can watch many great Czech comedies, family movies, or fairy tales. Many new fairy tales are purposely premiered on Christmas Eves. This year, Czechs will have a chance to see a new fairy tale musical, this time on New Year’s Eve, which is also featuring one unforgettable celebrity of American fables - Tami Stronach.

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Pro informace v CESTINE, kontaktujte CzechFolks (e-mail nebo komentar dole).

09/18/2008 and 09/19/2008 – Minnesota: Dozinky – Czech Harvest Festival

Time: 10 AM – 5 PM

Location: New Prague, Minnesota

More information HERE

09/18/2008 – New York: Czech New (Y) Dance!

Time: 7 PM

Location: Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73^rd Street, New York City

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

The current list of Czech and Slovak Meetup can be found HERE (Aktualni seznam Ceskych a Slovenskych Meetupu ZDE).

There are many ways to network with other Czechs and Slovaks but one of the most popular is through the web. One of the resources you can use is Meetup (www.meetup.com). This online social networking portal connects people around the world that share the same interests. It allows members to find and join different groups (language, computer games, movies, books, politics, health, pets, or careers). So why won’t you try it too? Czech/Slovak Meetups welcome anybody - Czechs, Slovaks, Czech/Slovak-Americans, or even Americans! Join to learn more about Czech and Slovak culture, language, food, traditions and much more.

Here is the most recent list of Czech and Slovak Meetups as of September 2008 (scroll below):

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Clanek v CESTINE dole.

I have lived in the U.S.A. for a while. I have to say I assimilated very well and don’t feel homesick as I did in the beginning. Even though I browse Czech websites from time to time, my Czech is not what it used to be; especially the written part. One of the reasons may be that I don’t keep in touch with my friends much anymore. Well, we still write short emails to each other but very rarely and calling is not convenient with the time difference. Thus, I decided to register with two Czech social networking websites in order to stay connected: http://www.spoluzaci.cz/ and http://www.lide.cz/ and I made some surprising observations.

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