Tonight is Christmas Eve, and although it means little to me, having adopted "American Christmas", I thought I'd go ahead and acknowledge it. Christmas was officially banned in communist Russia, and truth be told I have no memory of how my family celebrated back in those days. A special dinner? Presents? My Christmas memories conveniently all start in America, where Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and his abundance of presents is certainly never banned. In all probability, my first-grader self quickly delivered the rules of western Christmas to my parents after learning about them in school, very soon after delivering tales of tooth fairies and Halloweens and Thanksgivings. Little me, the only one in the family to grow up not knowing communist state holidays. October Revolution Day? Spoiled child!
This photo was taken at The Bank bar and restaurant -- kind of a fun place to drink a pint or eat a steak in Dublin. It used to be an actual bank and is mighty fancy inside, with a running stock ticker marquee above the bar and elaborate plaster moldings on the ceiling and walls. Makes you feel important. And makes your steak and your pint of Carlsberg feel important too.
So, Merry Russian Orthodox Christmas. Now all that needs to happen is for my visitors to return to my Dublin apartment so that we may recreate New Year's Eve but on the Julian calendar.
PLEASE let's recreate new year's. maybe not in Dublin b/c I am not there (and in all honesty, recreating new year's without me would just be a disappointment) but certainly back in DC! I will bring edamame and sushi just because I am such a nice person. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I can handle another new year's. One New Years a year might be enough.
ReplyDeleteALthough I did have quite a lot of fun *Wink*