New Years Eve.

Well here it is Jan.01 2011 and we survived the New Years bash.  Just as I used to bring in the new year in Canada we spent the evening with family and friends.  In the early evening we enjoyed a meal with our daughter Christina and her husband Vitally along with some friends.  

In Ukraine most celebrations are centred around a lavish meal which is often the focus of the celebration and can last for several hours.  The custom here is to exchange gifts on New Years eve and not on Christmas as in Canada.  Because Christmas is celebrated on the 6th of January in Ukraine, the people greet one another with the saying  "Happy New Years and a Merry Christmas" unlike Canada where the saying is the reverse.    Another favorite pastime on New Years eve is to watch musical concerts on TV including reruns from past New Years Eve parties.  Virtually every TV channel carries these concerts which go on until the early morning hours and often continue on into the next  day, so tough luck if you don't like musical concerts.   

Around midnight we joined the citizens of  Kolomaya in their celebrations around the decorated evergreen in the central square.  Here, the pop of champaigne corks could be heard while people sang seasonal songs, with enthusiasm.  At the approach of midnight Kolomaya lit up with blasts of fireworks and sounds which can only be described as the blitz over London during WWII.  I  can only guess but if one were to count the number of  fireworks set off on this night it would rival some of the larger cities of the world.  If one could be on top of a high building in the centre of the city on this night, begining around 11:30 and lasting throughout the night, one would see fireworks set off by local citizens from back yards and gardens from all quarters of the city . The night sky is lit up for hours,with bursts of lights flashing every few minutes and the blasts sounding like a war zone battlefield.  We finally got cold and returned home where we warmed up, watched more TV musical reruns and than finally said good night.  Malanka or the old New Years occurs on January 13-14th and will be a subject for another blog.
2011 is the year of the rabbit in Chinese cultue thus the rabbit ears.