С Рождеством Христовым

 

Raise your glass (of plain vodka)!  It’s Christmas again!   My friend Katya (who also happens to be the Russian version of me) invited us language assistants and some French friends over to celebrate Russian Christmas, which is the 7^th of January based on the Julian calendar.  Although Katya was nice enough to wish me a Merry Christmas on December 25^th, the day has no real significance for her. 

During the USSR, Christmas (being a religious holiday) was not celebrated, so it’s  still not a huge deal to Katya and her family.  She says that during the Soviet era, New Year’s became the biggest family holiday because it celebrated a non-religious event.  But ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, Katya and her family have celebrated Christmas the traditional Russian way – they eat a large meal of sausage, potatoes, beef and pork dumplings, several salads, and of course vodka! 

Katya, who can only be called a domestic goddess, kept us eating (and drinking) from 9 pm until 1 am.  By the end of the festivities she seemed unruffled and serene (as if that clear liquid she was drinking were water) while the rest of us devolved into dancing to bad French pop, playing with lit candles, and breaking chairs. 

The company included my friend Elvin, the Spanish assistant from Nicaragua.  When Katya told him about the shortage of men in Russia, he declared that he wanted to move there as soon as possible so he could seduce the Russian women with his Latin American charm.  This made us all laugh because Elvin is about 5’ tall while Katya is about 6’2”.  Nevertheless, he insisted that we call him Elvinskii for the rest of the night.

The next night, Katya invited some girlfriends and myself to come over for “fortune-telling,” which can begin the day after Christmas. This was one of the few Russian Christmas traditions that continued during the Soviet era, because it was judged a secular tradition.  Apparently, fortune telling is just for girls.  No boys were allowed in the apartment, and we holed up drinking wine and eating chocolate by candlelight. 

The first fortune-telling activity involved drawing cups.  Each cup had something different inside: water, bread, salt, onion, sugar, hair, or a ring.  As it would happen, I drew the cup with the ring, which allegedly means I will be getting married this year.  (The next day at lunch my French friend Laura said, “Maybe this means you will be getting married in order to stay in France!”  She then started suggesting friends of hers who might not make terrible husbands for me. OK maybe a step too far…)  

For the second fortune we had to melt pieces of wax and pour the melted wax into cold water.  We then took the newly hardened wax, held it up to a candle, and tried to discern something about our future from the shadow it made on the wall. 

One girl’s shadow looked suspiciously like a camel with a pack.  We decided this means she will soon take a trip to an exotic destination.  My wax-shadow looked like a crescent moon.  Apparently something in my life is either “waxing” or “waning.”  Perhaps it’s my impending marriage to an unknown man.

Cheers!  And Merry Christmas! (Again)