The Granddad Frost, his Snow Maiden and Russian Christmas

Provided to be there are people, who don’t know how the Christmas celebrats in Russia and who are the main personages of this greatest fest.

To speak in a roundabout way there were no Christmas in Russia officially, as it was banned in a soviet era. All Christian attributes of Christmas were replaced by neutral non-religious things, partly borrowed from paganism. Now the Christian traditions attempt to recover, but the roots were lost and not too much people take these innovations seriously.

Instead of Christmas Russians used to celebrate the coming of a New Year. It comes in the night of 31st December.

In the middle of the night the Granddad Frost comes through the window and brings presents.

The figure of Granddad Frost is a spirit of winter, a mighty hero, a furrier, who able to forge water by iron frost. He also often identifies as a impetuous winter winds. In some folk tales he helps travelers in the snowstorm to find their lost path.

Granddad Frost is a high, mighty old man with thick straight white-silver beard and hairs. These details besides physical definition of old age mean power, happiness, wellness and richness.

A fur coat is long, covering legs, blue or red, embroidered with silver and diamonds. A list is made by swan’s fluff.

A hat is red, has a half-oval form, also embroidered with a silver and brilliants, bordered with swan’s fluff.

Three fingered gloves of white color with silver ornament – as symbol of purity, saint and holiness of everything what goes out his hands.

A belt is white with red ornament – is a symbol of connection with ancestry.

The silver or red top-boots with cocked toes are on his feet.

He has a crystal or silver staff with waved, like a moon handle in the bottom, or with a head of a bull instead (symbol of fertility and happiness).

The Snow Maiden is unique attribute of a Granddad Frost. The figure of Snow Maiden aka Snegurochka is a symbol of stark water. Some tales said that she is brought to life snow woman.

She is a girl about 14-18 y.o. in white clothes. Her head is covered by octal-rayed crown, ornamented by silver and brilliants. She is very beautiful, has blue eyes and long thick white hairs, put in a plait.

Her relations with Granddad Frost are not recognized, some sources say she is his Granddaughter, others stand for mistress.
She is also very smart, quick and able, what makes a new version that she moreover is a secretary of a Frost boss.
Anyhow it is, her role in the New Year fest is to help Granddad Frost to distribute the gifts. And those unrecognizable relations are used for great source of smutty jokes.

Granddad Frost and his girlfriend Snow Maiden comes and puts gifts under the Yolka. Yolka it is a New Year tree, decorated with toys and candies.
The custom of decorating New Year trees was introduced to Russia by Peter the Great, after he visited Europe during the 1700's. Since ornaments were either very costly or unavailable, family trees were trimmed with homemade decorations and fruit. Yolka comes from the word which refers to a fir tree.

In the night of 31st December all people drink champagne and vodka, eat Oliv’e(Russian salad) and dance around the New Year Tree (not Christmas Tree!), interrupting only for listening presidents speech. After president's speach chimes beats 12 times, people clink full beakers and wish each other Happy New Year, it sounds like "S Novym Godom!".

The hedgehog

This summer during a vacation time I got known one hedgehog. He used to come to the villa’s yard, where we have lived with my kuma*. Every day, when the evening has worn on, and the sun has drooped in the west, he has crept in the bushes, making scary noise. When we found out that it was just hedgehog, we decided to lure him out. The cunning strategy was the next: to leave every evening something delicious near the bushes, every time moving food closer to open area, when we would be able to catch and take a picture of him. The one more difficulty was lack of knowledge of hedgehogs’ taste, so it was going to be a fascinating experiment.

In such a way at the first day we left him a plate of excellent wheaten bear Etalon, Pringles with cream and onion and fat Ukrainian wurst with garlic. This set of products in my opinion could addict any creature. But to my disappointment a hedgehog proved to be a capricious guy. In the morning we discovered that he left everything untouched, giving occasion for kuma to make fun of me.

She said that I have plebeian taste and today she will show me, how to feed the hedgehogs correctly. In the book of her 4 year old son kuma found a picture of our hero’s close relative, and on his back were drawn a mushroom and apple. As we had none of those, she decided to replace it by piece of chanterelle pizza and candies with apple aroma.

Well, she showed to be really smarter, because next morning we didn’t find candies, only its covers, hidden in her son’s toy cab. The crafty animal loves sweets and cars the same as little boys do! It was unexpected discovery, which helped us to realize that they probably also have to eat milk and curd.

We were on the right path, the spiny friend have eaten kid’s menu with pleasure, and we got a chance to observe him several times. On the picture above embodied a moment of our most intimate contact.

* * *

*Kuma – name of relationship, defined between a God mother and mother, they used to call each other by this name.

Telepathy

The thoughts are very material. They look like the colorful patterns on a transparent canvas. Some thoughts even have a smell. A lot of people are able to recognize the simple signs from those around and react on it properly.

It works, like if I hate somebody, the person feels musty smell of my attention and hates me also or tries to avoid or whatever he usually does when somebody hates him. Each time when I think about somebody positive or negative, he feels it immediately, it is a lot like to phone him or to have a direct talk.

If suddenly, without a reason somebody came to my head and raised sweet dreamy mood, thin roses aroma, it means the only one thing – this moment he was thinking about me that way.

He “called” to my mind and I can either ignore or accept it. In case of rejecting person from another side will get a thought like “gm…I just remembered, she used to offend me a lot of times and she did this and that… she seems not that perfect anymore”. All thoughts come to the end and a small grey stagnant cloud disperses insensibly in the air.

If the flow was accepted, two people get into contact, resonance happens, kaleidoscope of red, yellow and green circles dance in a mind and since that moment they can’t any more resist thinking of each other.

Exactly now, I keep on sweet and tempting thinking. Over and over again I return to the fictitious world where there are place only for us and non-stopping romance. And again I hear his voice, his breathe, every his word. I wish I could see him just once… although I realize he is the phantom, my next idee fixe, but sandal, tart musky scent of a man lead me astray.

The memorandum

I received a lot of nice presents on my bd but one of the best was made by fate through my dance teacher. She didn’t know that I’ve an event, but she called exact that day and said that tomorrow if I don’t mind I will start my own group. The ladies from hairdressing saloon across the corridor of our dance hall would like to take lessons, inspired by observing how we do it.

It was so long expected light in the end of tunnel, I started to run here and there out of elation. Before giving me this offer, a fate made a testing for me, to check if I’m worth or not. There was one more girl, who has worked as hard as me and done very well in dancing. The teacher noticed her pains, and I felt jealous and competitive about her. Since she is a very nice and kind girl, plus all misfortunes sticks to her like the bees on a honey, I felt also sympathy for that girl. I took a grip on myself and instead of competition I did everything to help and promote her as future instructor, denying the realization of own dream. We became the good friends and I almost haven’t regretted that everything turned as it did. She had her lessons, it helped her to improve financial situation a little and to satisfy the possession to dancing, which we, real fans usually have. I’ve started to work more at home with teaching programs and targeted on improving my technique.

And then suddenly this great proposal happened, I’ve passed the fate’s test. It means so much for me! Finally I will stably earn leaving by making what I adore most of all. It means that if I do my best, and everything will going fine, I’ll be able to quite my current job, which I don’t enjoy any more. And after doing everything in my power directed to dancing I will get the new great results and opportunities, which I couldn’t get when wasting my forces for software engineering.

On Sunday, 17.12.2006 officially started my carrier of dance instructor. I got my own first group. The passed lesson was considered as successful, ladies seemed satisfied and I hope we will dance together more then once again.

Difficult lyrics

It is 1000th time when i'm listening this song and crying, that's why i think it must be engraved in my diary...
One of the greatest song of Mikhail Krug, russian chanson legend:

http://archive.org/download/Prisoner/mama.mp3

Text:

I.

Sognali kak-to na tsentral vorov v zakone
Mochilis' suki v proharya v t'ur'me i v zone
A potomu chto tam gde vor - skoschuha zeku
Blatnomu, urke i prostomu cheloveku

A nad Vladimirom visel bagrovyi mesyats
I kto-to v kamere zapel grustnuu pesnu
I grela dushi vsem zekam toi pesni plamya
Koroche kajutsya sroka, kogda pout o mame

Refrain:
A pesnu grustnuu v turme poet
Odin evreiskiy arestant
I slovo mama kajdyi uznaet
Gruzin, Rusak i brat Tsigan

II.

On pesnu pel s takou grust'u
Ne jaleya...
Kak mojet pet' i toskovat'
Dusha Evreya

I uvajeniem proniklis'
Arestanty...
K evreiskoi mame,
I k bosyatskomu talantu

Refrain.

III.

Bahur heudy she yoshev be kele
Shar zemer al ima shelo
Kha zemer pashut, ve atsuv im alev
Sevel ve tikval bishvilo

Haity tipesh, ah tislehi li imi
Khaval ein li hofesh hayom
Hakafti otah, ve ad ahshav maamin
Hshe or she ba, kmo halom

Jam's day

8 years ago this day I ran away school earlier, missed two last lessons of Ukrainian literature, which I hated so much. Then I came to another school, to my best friend Anya, the girl next door, and asked her to escape with me. Anya’s father was an owner of a great Pentium 133, what was the real miracle that time, and when he was absent, we played games and watched prohibited videos. I valued our friendship so much!
We always have inspired each other with the “good” deeds, so that time we bought for stolen from Anya’s dad cash a chakushka of vodka, 2 packs of Marlboro lights and began the birthday party. Nirvana mixed with Ruki vverh and Sektor Gaza completed the picture of our degradation. We opened the window (it was the 9th floor) and set on the window-sill, shouting “Rape me, my friend”. Snow and ice-cold wind struck the face, and it was feeling of unbelievable freedom and ecstasy.
Everything good usually finishes very quickly, so Anya went to a shop for additional half liter. She returned soon very excited. She met her class-mate under my windows with the bunch of roses. He was a menace of our district, and her vicious enemy. She didn’t know how long I tried to get his favor. And the fact that he was standing in sharp frost with flowers meant that finally I won him. Against any logic and my feelings I didn’t ran to him, didn’t invite to my house. We continued our private hard-drinking, hugging and complaining of bad women’s fortune. From time to time I have come to windows, to ensure that he was still standing there. He kept waiting and trying to ring my door about 3-4 hours, till the darkness fall on the city and my parents returned home. My mom spared him and told that I’m most likely in the flat next door. He rushed into Anya’s flat frozen-blue and found us deadly drunk, singing the love song and crying. It was a dumb scene…An’ka has laughed at his agonizing suspense, the roses flied at her face, I was grabbed and put into bath under cold water, and then he took me somewhere away and has related very long about his special feelings and my improper behavior…
In the morning I find myself at home, in the bad, but dressed, with the terrible headache and sensation of unbelievable happiness…It was the best birthday ever…

Plaything of destiny

They met in May, a beautiful tiny Gypsy girl and Ukrainian bumpkin. She had a silver thin voice, the big black eyes, a swarthy skin and fire like temper. He was high, broad shouldered, blue-eyed, simple, naïve and phlegmatic. In June she found out that she is pregnant. Her Gypsy parents came to his Ukrainian parents and asked them to marry their son to avoid a shame for a daughter. The Ukrainian family council decided to marry couple and take responsibility for the future children, although newly-weds both were only 16, and the boy resisted that marriage as much as he was able. When a head of gypsy family, old respectable man saw a groom at the first time, he said: ”This guy will not be a good husband for our Galka, he should beat her twice a day, in the morning and specially hard in the evening, and keep her under his thumb, but he is weak-willed…they have no future, just a bad fate…”
From the beginning marriage couple has lived with the groom’s family, but it was rather one non-stopping scandal instead of a life. Then parents exchanged their big flat and let children to live separately. In the winter were born Dima and Vova, gorgeous male twins. Calka adored her sons and cherished them every moment, when she wasn’t drunk, what unfortunately has happened not too often. The young father preferred to spend time in a circle of friends with a guitar and joyful drinks, than with unwanted load. All expenses for keeping Dima and Vova covered their grand parents.
Drunken brawls hadn’t stopped in an unhappy house, and neighbors started to complain of young family behavior. Once, the man next door caught Galka and abused her for a worthless way of life. She went home after that conversation and took a knife then came to that man’s flat, hiding a knife behind her back. When he opened a door, she stabbed him in a heart and after all coolly returned home.
Fortunately the wound wasn’t deep, an ambulance arrived very quickly and man survived. Galka was arrested and put into prison until the court decision. Her gypsy parents bribed the judge and turned everything like the man was guilty, the fact of having two little kids helped also to constitute justification. Galka returned from prison less then several days. It was her last trick, which gave an occasion to divorce with a husband. He wanted freedom and joy with no mad women or crying kids. She tried to return him into family, but it changed nothing.
Young father forgot about his sons’ existence right after he signed divorce documents, he finally enjoyed his freedom. Galka was a very beautiful woman; she hadn’t suffered from loneliness, but all her men for some reason started to drink with her and shortly after used to escape. She lived for a present, never asking herself what will be tomorrow.
Twins have grown up in atmosphere of scandals, depravity and drunkenness. Grandparents from the father side have tried to take boys from a mother, but all what they achieved was a permission to have them each summer for school holidays.
Dima and Vova inherited amazing mother’s face beauty and father’s strong build. Since very early age they were under special female attention, additional charm they have got from participation of the local gangs. Their very first money boys got from selling drugs. Another their business was serving rich mature sexually-hungry women. Life has seemed not that difficult until a police caught them with the big party of poppy straws. They went to a prison together on the same term, not too long, as their minority was taken into consideration. In prison they connected with thieves, which involved them into a new “cars” business. When police caught twins next time, a term was much longer. In prison they used to write long touching letters, sodden by sorrow, regrets for ruined life. They never blamed parents. Quite the contrary, they worried in each letter, how are there those poor drunkers, if they have something to eat and where to sleep. Prison became for Dima and Vova a permanent home. They used to return there right after discharge. All relatives gave up with situation and stopped visiting and sending dispatching and mailing. Nobody waits them back, the only rare chanson songs, accidentally heard in a restaurant or taxi remind of their sad fate.

A sudden gift

I received an expensive present yesterday, hand-made work, exceptionally beautiful and generous. I put it in the heart area and going to wear it under cloths, so that no envious, highly moral eyes will see it.
In the night, when all were sleeping I took it out and played in the moon light, cherishing and worming my gift with the special tenderness. What a happiness to have a beloved priceless treasure! I feel hot all over just because a realization the fact of having it.
I should not take this gift, because I’m forbidden to give it back, although I hardly want to return it to lavish owner in a double size.
But delightful languor, sweet weakness, how could the heart resist?
It couldn’t and now is fling light-heartedly, carelessly, happily drunk on my dear, so long expected thing….
Soon fate will punish me for a crime, but it will be later, and now I’m going to enjoy...

Teaching

On the Saturday I got a phone call from my teacher. She strained her voice and asked me to lead a lesson for her beginners group. I hadn't time to argue something, as she said, wish you luck, keys from dance hall are in the usual place.
I had some experience of conducting the dance classes. It has never been good enough, because a fear of mistakes and uncertainty of own mastery.
Everything began very badly. The organizers bought a new sound system, which didn’t want play my accurately prepared training collection. I wasted 10 minutes fighting with CD changer. There are no technics in the world, which I couldn’t deal with, one gentle touch and everything usually works fine, but this time I lost my engineer’s talent. Finally I forced it to play some old Arabic disco collection, absolutely doesn’t suitable for the lesson.
We started from little meditation, some kind speech of welcome, greeting each other and getting the right dance mood. Should I admit that I forgot half of the words, which I prepared and started to improvise some weird bullshit, but that was ok, seemed like they liked. There are also were abnormally many learners, and they took a lot of my energy, trying to get attention and drilling me with their eyes.
We started a usual limbering-up. One woman took her little daughter on the lesson. This beautiful 3.5 year old dancing lady pulled out balls for shaping from the box and started to throw these balls at me, women at back row chuckled.
It was the last straw, which turned my exertion and fear into joy with some evil element. I decided to entertain a little bit also, and announced that today we will start to study shaking technique. The balls were confiscating from a kid, and young star was equipped by veil with coins. We started…yeah…it was the funniest picture I have ever seen, epilepsy attack is nothing, comparing to my learners attempting. They tried very hard, with so serious red faces. I flattered my ego no more then 5 minutes, then took a pity and opened some secrets of its performing. It was so pleasant to see how they delighted with the first results. Remained part of the lesson passed in a harmony. After ending they gave me a lot of questions, some of them asked to train them personally. This freedback and recognition was the greatest thing that I experienced, I got my first satisfaction from making a lesson.

Obliko-Morale

When the Universe turned from chaotic to a well-ordered subsistence, the life was engendered and the first people’s society appeared. Three simple rules regulated it from a previous chaos:
1. Prohibition to eat a totem.
2. Prohibition to have a forbidden woman.
3. Prohibition to kill a member of group.
Violation of these rules leaded to regression, disorder and destruction. All current religions are based on these precepts and every cultural moral leads its roots from the above statements.
However it was allowed to break above rules in two cases – during the war and during the fest. When one of these two events was taking place, a society’s system for a while had returned to chaotic state, releasing energy, and in the end it had gone up on the new stage of developing. In all other cases human is not allowed to break main rules of order.

The phantom

Ancient sages discovered that the time flows by spiral. In the moments when convolutions come near we get "déjà vu" effect, and if they intersect, we are able to travel in time.
Today I witnessed the miracle, an alive arrival from past. It was in the early gray morning. The slow moving car queue on the Vozduhoflotskiy Bridge, worm stove and silent uncertain music lulled to sleep. Wired sensations like watching the same shots of old-known movie fulfilled me, and then it suddenly appeared, gorgeous, new and shining like a New Year toy. It had black numbers with 4 digitals on the snow-white desk and virgin cleanly windows. Awaked in a moment I followed with bated breath the legend of soviet’s cars production, the great VAZ-2101, until it passed out of sight behind a turning.
In actual fact, there was so strange in that not the car model. Kopeyka (coin, popular nick of this car) still is the everyday occurrence on the Ukrainian roads, although it was taken out of production in 1984. The strange was its fresh, new condition. It looked like just went out the plant, with no weird “Sparko” sticker or toned glasses tuning. If I didn’t need go to office, I would drive to time traveler and would tell him shocking truth about the future.
As I know it was the first attested intersection of time spiral on the Kiev road. Undoubtedly, this event of transferring the substance from past must be registered in annals of history.