Understanding her holidays

[mendeleyev]

Today, 31 December, ushers in the most important holiday of the year: the New Year celebration! For those interested, Easter is the second most celebrated holiday.





Generalization warning: The Eastern world is very large, and so naturally some practices will vary from region to region and even from family to family. But, in general this is a fairly representative look at how the holiday is celebrated.

Today shoppers are making last minute gift purchases, heading to the supermarket for special foods, and cleaning the home before guests begin to arrive.





The family New Year Tree, if not already up, is being decorated. There will be no presents under the tree because that is the job of Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden. Magically, when children awake in the morning they will see that Grandfather Frost came in the middle of the night to deliver presents.





All this is somewhat close to Western traditions, except gifts are given on New Years Day instead of Christmas Day which is still to come on the 7th of January.

Now, what is somewhat different?

Tonight, for example. About 5 or 6pm homes will start to fill. Those small apartments will host family members and friends from out of town. Most Russians and Ukrainians prefer a home celebration as opposed to "going out" as is popular in the West. Still, restaurants will be booked and hotel ballrooms filled.



There will be a special meal, and that meal will go on for eternity as new dishes replace the old. If your stomach can hold it, one could eat from 8 or 9 pm right up into the early morning hours.  Tea will flow like water. Some families will have brought out an old family samovar from a closet and will serve hot water for tea for this special night. Champagne toasts will be held until the clock strikes the near year at midnight, but vodka toasts will give the hot tea some stiff competition.

Lets talk about the samovar for a moment. It is not a "tea urn" or "coffee urn" or any other similar name. It is a hot water generator on steroids. It does only water, but it does it very, very well. Really old samovars were wood, coal, or charcoal fired, but it is unlikely that you would see one used indoors on a winter holiday. Most used inside the home will be electric, and some of those are quite old, too.





The hostess of the home will brew tea in a teapot, usually one of her nicest for this occasion, and for special holidays she will most likely use the finest tea leaves. As in loose tea leaves, so do not fret if you find some in your cup. That is a good thing--an indication that she used her very best on this holiday.

When it comes time to serve you tea, she will first pour about a third of a cup of her loose tea brew into your serving cup. That will be some pretty strong tea, so then she will fill the bulk of your cup with steaming hot water from the samovar, diluting the mixture into a very pleasant cup of her finest tea. She will not make tea inside the samovar itself.

Some teapots have inserts that hold the loose leaves, and sure, tea bags are common all over the FSU, but many families revert to this time honoured tradition for special holidays.




Culinary delights will highlight salads and the Russian style of open-faced "sandwiches" which to most Westerners are too small to be considered a sandwich. Bread with butter and caviar, crackers with cheese and caviar, bread with thin cucumber slices and meats will be found, among a host of other delights, naturally.

Expect to see a lot of salmon, blini, caviar, and various salads on most New Year tables. And borsch--I already made our family borsch and it is ready to be served tonight!




Near midnight we will watch the president's New Year greeting which will be on all the TV and radio channels. We will also join millions of other to watch the movie referenced earlier in this thread: "The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath!" Upthread there are links to both part one and part two for those interested.

Be a good host as your guest will not be going home--they're staying overnight at your place so make sure to find room for bodies on every sofa, and if needed, a corner or two on the floor (for you, adult guests should never be asked to sleep on the floor).

Finally, the fire works!



I have often thought that Napoleon and Hitler never really understood Russian culture, as the love for fireworks, both professionally in city plazas and informally on almost every residential street by neighbors, would have been the perfect cover. There is so much noise, so many sounds of explosions at midnight, so many bursts of light in the sky that Hitler could have marched in likely unnoticed on New Year's Eve. Needless to say, city fire departments will be busy all night.



On the New Year morning, there is a tradition to walk along the town plazas and squares. In Moscow you will see thousands of folk who venture out to Red Square and other famous parks and plazas. This is the one time of the year when it is polite to greet strangers with a smile.



Very likely you will be greeting with a polite С новым годом!

[mendeleyev]

There is also an interesting article on the New Year celebration in Russia Beyond the Headlines.

http://rbth.com/arts/2014/12/26/happy_soviet_new_years_eve_42581.html

[jone]

С новым годом, Mendy.

And thanks for the report.

[mendeleyev]

Thanks Jone, and may your new year be filled with good health, happiness, love and success!

[mendeleyev]

Happy New Year from Russia! Happy New Year from Ukraine!

Would it not be nice to someday, soon we pray, to be able link these two countries in mutual expressions goodwill again? Until then, we wish everyone a happy new year, and prayers for peace.




Вас с праздником! Здоровья, счастья, благополучия, любви!



С Новым годом! to our Russian readers. З новим роком! to our Ukrainian readers. Yes, Happy New Year to each of us.


(As published in the Mendeleyev Journal)

[AC]

Happy New Year from Russia! Happy New Year from Ukraine!

Would it not be nice to someday, soon we pray, to be able link these two countries in mutual expressions goodwill again? Until then, we wish everyone a happy new year, and prayers for peace.




Вас с праздником! Здоровья, счастья, благополучия, любви!



С Новым годом! to our Russian readers. З новим роком! to our Ukrainian readers. Yes, Happy New Year to each of us.


(As published in the Mendeleyev Journal)

   Happy New Year to you as well.

[mendeleyev]

Спасибо, AC. Исполнения всех хороших желаний!

[mendeleyev]

During this holiday season there are three more important dates in Russia/Ukraine and much of the Eastern world:

- Christmas Day on 07 January (and the very important observance of Christmas Eve on 06 January).

- The Old New Year on 14 January. This is the original new year before the change from the old Julian calendar to the Georgian calendar that the world observes today. According to tradition, the New Year tree remains decorated in most homes until the "Old New Year" has passed.

With those two days the New Year and Christmas holidays are officially over, however there is one more important event, celebrated very widely, and it is:

- The Epiphany on 19 January.

As time permits we'll write more about each of those on these pages.

[ML]

Also be aware that Kutia must be prepared for Christmas Eve.

So start grinding on those poppy seeds . . . ugh what a job.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutia

[mendeleyev]

ML, yum!

[mendeleyev]

It is Christmas Eve! (06 January)

That means a combination of fasting, yet preparing food for Christmas day tomorrow (07 January). We are already observing the Nativity fast with me meat, oil, dairy, etc, and today at Noon all food consumption comes to an end. The next meal we will take is the "body and blood of Christ" during the Nativity liturgy. That will come late at night.

However, in the meantime lots of food is being prepared for tomorrow. The fast will have past and any delight is on the menu, but there are some special dishes. As ML mentioned, "Kutya" is one of those.

Then there is another, Vareniki. Just watch:

[mendeleyev]

[mendeleyev]

[mendeleyev]

[mendeleyev]

[LAman]

It is Christmas Eve! (06 January)

That means a combination of fasting, yet preparing food for Christmas day tomorrow (07 January). We are already observing the Nativity fast with me meat, oil, dairy, etc, and today at Noon all food consumption comes to an end. The next meal we will take is the "body and blood of Christ" during the Nativity liturgy. That will come late at night.

However, in the meantime lots of food is being prepared for tomorrow. The fast will have past and any delight is on the menu, but there are some special dishes. As ML mentioned, "Kutya" is one of those.

Then there is another, Vareniki. Just watch:

Mendy, I just spoke to a friend in central Ukraine( originally from southern part) and they had a feast for dinner on Christmas Eve..... at regular dinner time ~19:00. Is there lots of differences among FSU countries or even cities in a country?

[mendeleyev]

It is just a variance of a wider tradition. There is a traditional Christmas Eve dinner, of twelve specific dishes (one for each of the twelve apostles). If they attended church, they may eat this Christmas Eve feast prior to going to the midnight liturgy. In most cases those dishes are meatless, thus conforming to the Nativity fast. Lots of families, especially those with children or elderly relatives, will eat this meal prior to the liturgy. As our children became older we moved it up and then fasted afterward through the evening.

[ML]

Oliviea salad (or however spelled) eaten along with Kutia this evening.

But I gave a big pass on the herring under fur.

[mendeleyev]

Oh ML, how can a man pass on "herring under a fur coat?!" One must now question your very existence. LOL

I love herring anyway, eat it pickled, and so piling on some potatoes, beets, carrots, mayo, mayo, sour cream, mayo, mayo, onion, a little mayo, sour cream, and some mayo just makes it better. All a man needs for further happiness is a little dill, okay some more mayo, and wahoo!

[mendeleyev]

On 14 January, we celebrated the "Old New Year," the new year on the old calendar. It is a traditional day to take down decorations from the holiday season, and at our house to find any leftover cakes and pies from the previous days. According to some traditions, it is bad luck to not finish off those leftovers.

Happy old new year!

[mendeleyev]

Epiphany, the observance of the baptism of Jesus Christ, has almost arrived in the Eastern world.

Tonight at midnight and all through tomorrow until sundown, millions of Christians across Asia and Eastern Europe will renew their baptismal vows by plunging into icy waters. In our home, we join other Orthodox Christians just past midnight--the morning of 19 January.

Had you asked me the first time, prior to taking part, I was expecting nothing more than a freezing ice bath. In reality, at least for me, it triggers a flood of emotions, including sorrow for sin and a resolve to take up my cross and follow the Master. I can neither speak for, nor judge, how it impacts others.

With city rescue workers standing by, a priest blesses the water and the tradition is to lower yourself into the water, plunging into the water three times, while making the sign of the cross each time.

[mendeleyev]

If you observe this tradition, we wish you a joyful and fulfilling time of reflection and growth.

[mendeleyev]

[ML]

Yes, I just heard that tomorrow (19th) is another day that we need poppy seeds.

I told Ochka I didn't want to go buy any because then she will want me to help grind/mash them.

We actually finished off the little bit (crushed poppy seeds) left over from last batch this morning by putting on blini along with her homemade soft cheese, walnuts and honey.  Only about 4000 calories for each blini.  I had three.  But need the nourishment because two NFL playoff games to watch.

[mendeleyev]

I love blini!