If the grocery store cashier gives you candy, the houses are decorated, crowds of shoppers are attacking the stores (at least before the pandemic), the Manager is humming a Christmas songs, a colleague is ordering Hallmark movies about Christmas, parents are checking out Christmas books and movies for kids, a colleague is signing up a family for covid-19 test for a family gathering (nowadays), all this means the christmas is around the corner.
What am I doing? I’m looking forward to the New Year.
Firstly, because Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7.
Secondly, I am used to celebrating the New Year.
What do Russians do and must have in the run-up to the holidays:
-clean up the house, take out the carpet on the snow and beat it out
-throughout the month buy delicacies and mandarins
-decorate the Christmas tree, sometimes using walnuts covered with aluminum foil
-put Дед Мороз (Santa Claus) and Снегурочка (Snow Maiden) under the Christmas tree
-buy champagne and more mandarins
-women collect recipes of new salads
-prepare 5 salads for the night of celebration (including Olivier salad and Herring under a fur coat)
-cook the aspic (jellied meat).
-draw Christmas pictures on windows with toothpaste
-glue paper snowflakes on the windows.
-buy caviar and mandarins (!)
-“Irony of fate “(a classic new year’s Comedy) is on all TV channels
And then:
At 11 PM, the whole family sits down at the table to say “goodbye” to the Old year.
At five minutes to midnight, the entire country is watching and listening to the President’s speech from Red Square. Then, during the chime of chimes (or peal of bells), people open the champagne, pour it into glasses, clink glasses, wish everyone a happy New Year, drink champagne and make a wish.
You are done! The mission accomplished!
New Year is here.
