The Child of Prague: the statue that determines wedding day weather

Is the Child of Prague front-and-centre of your pre-wedding preparations?

Particularly in Ireland, with our haphazard and unreliable weather – at any time of the year – you might just want to include this little fella in your wedding day plans.

The Child of Prague seems familiar…

You might remember the (fairly gigantic) Child of Prague statue from that Derry Girls episode. The Child of Prague is usually a small statue picturing a Jesus-like cherub dressed in red robes grasping a globe with a crown on its head.

Although this is probably not the reference His good Lord hoped for… You might also recognise various iterations of the Child of Prague floating around your granny’s house, or from an older relatives’ wedding.

The Child of Prague tradition could be considered a very Irish wedding tradition or more so a Christian or Catholic wedding tradition or superstition.

So, what the eff does the Child of Prague have to do with my wedding?

In short, according to Irish wedding tradition, the Child of Prague is meant to bring the promise good weather on your wedding day.

But, this little guy has some pretty specific (yet also very unclear) requirements to ensure the good weather. The requirements to ensure good weather vary depending on which relative you talk to, or website you Google.

One camp says that the night before the Big Day, a Child of Prague statue should be placed outside your house, under a hedge or in a flower bed will bring good weather on your wedding day. Whilst others say that the Child of Prague should be buried up to its shoulders under said hedge.

Ideally when you return to the Child of Prague, it’s head will somehow be separated from the body – and voila, an omen good weather on your wedding day!

Some say the head is to be smashed off on the day of the wedding, but others say that the head should be knocked off without human intervention… So the optimal result would likely include a gust of wind or an animal of some sort?

Either way, a headless Child of Prague found on the morning of your wedding is said to bring a bright and sunshine-filled day.

There doesn’t seem to be one hard and fast rule for this one, so my advice – go with whatever your grandmother or religious next-door neighbour says!

Lead Image via Instagram Angler’s Rest