Drifting Fortunes
A myriad of superstitions orbit the traditional advent celebrations in Czech Republic. It’s difficult to trace the origins of so many of them, and they vary greatly by region and even village. For many, there is strong nostalgia associated with these unlikely rituals at Christmas. Most of these superstitions revolve around predicting future love, wealth, and longevity.
There are three such traditions centered around the walnut. The first and most widely observed tradition is that of eating walnuts during advent. To crack open and extract a whole walnut meat is associated with healthy and full life in the coming year, while a black or rotted walnut meat signifies one’s swift approaching demise. The second practice is a more intentional one, as three walnut shells are filled with bread, a coin, and soil respectively, carefully glued back together, and returned to the walnut bowl. At midnight on Christmas eve, each family member takes a walnut and opens it to discover their fortune in the coming year. Who receives the bread will find the most happiness, the coin signifies upcoming wealth, and the soil dictates poverty. The lucky recipients of a normal walnut can rest assured that neither great fortune nor calamity will befall them in the coming year. A third widely practiced walnut tradition is the floating of the walnut shells. After eating walnut meats, a small candle is fixed inside the walnut shell. The family then gathers around to float their candles in a bowl of water. The way that one’s candle floats foretells their romantic life, their financial life, and even if death will be expected in the year.
What can we say about such macabre yet enduring Christmas traditions? Why would predictions of death and poverty accompany the celebrations of advent? One can hypothesize, but perhaps the deeper reflection is, what draws all humans to be inclined toward what our future moments hold? Our desires chart close orbit to wishes of future prosperity and longevity that are never promised and few will lay hold of.
There is no better time for Christians to establish their hearts and minds in the truth of God’s promises. There is indeed a rich inheritance available to all in the coming year. There is no need of omens or oracles. There is a Christ who conquered death and removes the fear of its sting, and who offers a joy and peace found in His abiding presence and righteousness that no wealth can purchase. May we herald the hope that the world is so desperate to manufacture.
