However, it is not the children who get to decide “trick or treat” on this night. St. Nick and his helpers reward good children with sweets and bad children with coal. Sometimes children have to perform a song or a poem in return for their treat.
While the angel is a creature of good, the devil acts as a reminder for children to behave throughout the year to ensure that they will be given treats on St. Nicholas Eve and not stuffed in his sack and sent to Hell.
Though the devil character of the trio seems frightening, adults and children alike enjoy Mikulas. Visitors to Prague on this day should be sure to visit Old Town Square late in the afternoon or early evening, so that they can catch this Czech Christmas tradition in action.
