Christmas Confusion and New Year Resolution(s)
Posted by popkitchen | Filed under everyday life
Two weeks ago, I received so many Merry Christmas greetings, I could not defend myself. I am experienced though, when people wish me Merry Christmas, I wish the same back. In the past two years, I spent pre-Christmas season in the UK, my first term at the University, I tried to explain to people (gently!), that being an Orthodox Christians, Serbs celebrate Christmas according to Julian calendar (as opposed to Gregorian calendar, which puts Christmas on December 25th). The responses varied from “So, it is Epiphany, you celebrate!”, Tres Magos in Spanish tradition or whatever ….No, dear, it is just Christmas, pushed two weeks forward. Then I tried to call Russians for help, I mean there are over a hundred million of them, people ought have noticed. But no. “Aaah, so you are going to Russia for Christmas?”.
One of my friends was bluntly honest. “That’s odd”, she said.
Be it as it may, Christmas Eve is celebrated tonight over dinner consisting of fish and vegetables (no meat, no dairy). Who is really, really religious, should have fasted for over six weeks. Then he would have missed 
New Year’s traditional overeating. So yes, we celebrate Christmas two weeks later, there are no gifts (say what!), no decorated trees or Santa Claus. All of that, plus all hideous commercial aspects are saved for New Year’s. Christmas is primarily religious holiday (hence the fasting, no gifts and bunch of rituals done on the actual day), as 50 years of Communism solidified New Year, as the people’s holiday. With parties, special TV program (which is getting worse by the year), alcohol, gifts, special discounts, fatty foods, I have to refer to Russians again – Russian salad – pickles, cold chicken or ham, boiled carrot, potato and peas, dressed in mayonnaise and sour cream, January 1st is the day when I don’t feel guilty when eating this caloric monster with a large spoon, downing it with Coke.
So all that drinking and partying, explain the absence from the blog. On my native language blog, I summed up the important events from the last year – studying, traveling, meeting people, moving around. All great.
Here, I am thinking about the future, which calls for decisions to be made.
Let’s be realistic and to the point. In 2009, I want to/have to:
1) Finish the dissertation. Late February is the deadline.
2) Find a job. With the global recession and the never-ending transition in my home country, good luck with that….
3) Exercise more. Or that would be too optimistic?
Well, I need to write something in my 2009 Moleskin agenda (my mom’s gift to New Year). Wanna share yours?
Tags: belgrade, christmas, new year, serbia
