Czech golden pig ornaments get mask for COVID Christmas

DVUR KRALOVE NAD LABEM, CZECH REPUBLIC (Reuters) - A Czech Christmas ornament maker has added tiny masks to the country's traditional golden pigs, which are said to arrive in the homes of good children who fast before Christmas Eve's family feast.

The glass ornaments which can be hung from a Christmas tree have proved incredibly popular.

OZDOBAcz company owner Romana Juklova said they decided to mask the pigs in September to reflect how Czechs are adapting for Christmas this year.

"We used to add bows and flowers to them and this year, we added a face mask... We hope that next year we can decorate them a bit more cheerfully."

According to custom, the pigs bring good luck and happiness.

The masked pig ornaments have proved so popular, Juklova said, that they are making little else.

"They have become a massive hit," she said. "Now we are not doing anything else apart from making the piglets in face masks."

(Reporting by Jiri Skacel, Writing by Michael Kahn, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)