Mikulášské obchůzky na Hornolidečsku jako součást kulturního dědictví regionu

Anotace: In the Czech Republic, St Nicholas door-to-door processions are among the most important traditions, being often considered the highlight of Advent. It also applies to the region of Hornolidečsko where the first masked figures appear after the All Souls´ Day and roam around villages until the St. Nicholas Day. Devils, who appear in Roman-Catholic villages, are an integral part of cultural heritage not only in the corresponding villages, but also in the entire region. This study describes not only the present-day form of the St Nicholas door-to-door processions and disguises used at it, but attention is also paid to the most significant changes that influenced the form of flying, and shifted the procession´s form to the present-day one. A part of the study deals with historical development of these traditions and figures, that appear in the processions, their role and symbolism within the procession. The goal of this study is to introduce the theme of the St. Nicholas procession and its attributes, using the analysis of particular factors which influence its form even beyond the borders of the Czech Republic. In the course of the research, special attention was paid to several aspects that form this phenomenon, such as organization of the procession and identity of both active and passive participants. The study shows a research sample of this tradition´s bearers as well as motivating elements, thanks to which the tradition is still alive and passed down from generation to generation. In addition to these facts, the work looks into the form of support from the villages, but also into diverse opinions of inhabitants in the researched region regarding the inscription of the St Nicholas door-to-door procession on the List of Intangible Elements of Traditional Folk Culture of the Czech Republic. A part of the study answers the question to what extent is the tradition as a cultural heritage indelibly integrated in the region of southern Moravian Wallachia in its authentic and almost unchanged form.The contribution is an outcome of the GIS project in quantitative and qualitative analyses and interpretations of traditional folk culture, which is solved within the programme of Specific Research by the Institute of European Ethnology of the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University