Translation of the first phrase is 'Merry Christmas'. I know this is a bit belated, but it happens. We sincerely hope that everyone across the world had a great holiday, whichever one that they observe. As for us, Christmas was a bit anti-climatic, as in Russia gifts are exchanged on New Years Eve. We did buy a tree, although it is not the Douglas Fir that we had become accustomed to in the US we put the ornaments and stockings up about a week ago. Olga's mother came over this weekend and brought some of their family ornaments and so we added those the the tree and around the apartment. It does feel more festive now.
For those of you that are not familiar with how New Years Eve is celebrated here (and I would suspect that very few do know) I will attempt to provide an overview. New Years in Russia is more of a family holiday, as opposed to the US where we typically celebrate with our friends. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of libations that are handed out, but there is also a large dinner and the night is long....very long from what I recall. I last celebrated New Years in Russia in 2001/2002 and I believe I went to bed around 7AM. We'll see if I can last that long this year! So, the family gathers (we are hosting Olga's relatives this year so there will be 7 of us) and eats and drinks through the night. Just prior to midnight the President gives a short speech (this year it will be Medvedev, but we will see if Putin attempts to give his own speech as well) and after midnight it is common to go to a square where a tree has been set up to celebrate with your 'neighbors'.
In preparation of the upcoming festivities Olga and I decided to do some shopping. I'd now like to provide an example of why I really need to stop converting the prices from Rubles to Dollars, as it can get a bit mind-boggling. We stopped at a kiosk to get some fruit and vegetables and while the lady in front of us paid her bill I was somewhat bemused that she had spent about $75 on just fruit and vegetables. After about 15 minutes of ordering and tasting, the lady informed me that our bill was 3,050...uh, WHAT??? That's over $100....for fruit and vegetables??? Really??? Then I looked at the price of the cherries that we bought....1,500 rubles per kilo. Hmmm, that's about $25 per pound. I will no longer do conversions to Dollars....I will no longer do conversions to Dollars. I have to admit, there is still some pricing here that I just don't get.
I'll post pictures from New Years later this week. Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years celebration!
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