Czechmatediary

The other day we received one of the Czech Christmas cards which said “P.F. 2008“. I read it, smiled, and didn’t give another thought to it. My husband - American - asked me what did the “P.F.” stand for. “Oh, it means…. (30 seconds of silence)”. I didn’t have an answer! Out of pure embarrassment I immediately got on the internet and started a fearless search. I happened to find this great Czech website (ceske-tradice.com) which answered my question and put my soul to rest. And now - for those who are as ignorant as I was - I am going to put your souls to rest as well! Basically, “P.F.” stands for “Pour feliciter” or “For good luck” and it was invented by a Czech count Karel Chotek, who “ in 1827 got out of an uncomfortable situation of accepting visitors all day long by writing polite notes to them. Those notes usually consisted of words of apology followed by wishes of good luck. They also included a nice picture.” (more…)