C Нобым Годом! Happy New Year!

After spending a quiet Christmas so far from home, I was ready to celebrate the New Year, which is the biggest holiday in Belarus. I spent the night with my friend Сбета and her family including her mom, dad, sister, grandma, and cousin. The evening began with a huge Belarusian-style feast of chicken, pork, sausages, boiled potatoes, several special holiday salads, caviar, tomato slices, cheese, pickled cucumbers and carrots, bread, fresh fruit, juices, champagne, amaretto, red wine, and last but not least, a huge bottle of vodka. We started our meal around 8:00 pm and the drinks began to flow. I was happy to participate in the series of toasts that always accompany a gathering of friends and family, no matter how big or small. This tradition is one of my favorite parts of Belarusian culture as the toasts are often very meaningful to those involved. Rather than gulping down your drinks in silence, everyone comes together to enjoy and commemorate the moment. Although you can get yourself into trouble as many people insist that you finish all of your drink each time. My advice is to make sure you have a small glass!

It was New Year’s Eve and I was in the mood to party, so by golly I finished each of my shots of vodka and washed them down with a закуска (za-kooz-ka, snack). In this case it was a slice of pickle, Russian style! After an hour or two I realized that the huge table of food served a second purpose, to help counteract all the vodka that we, or at least Сбета’s dad and I, were drinking. It didn’t take long for us to team up, and I later learned that he was very pleased to have a drinking buddy for the night. We carried on like this until 11:00 pm at which time everyone, except Сбета’s mom, stood up and toasted Happy New Year to Moscow! What an experience for a girl whose father visited the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War as a U.S. Air Force officer. Who would ever have guessed that one day I would share a special holiday meal with a man who once served in the Soviet military!

When the clock finally struck midnight in Belarus, we had yet another toast and enjoyed the national anthem as it played on the television. Next, everyone sat down to listen to President Lukashenka’s New Year’s Greetings. As usual, I was happy to understand a handful of words, but you can visit the Embassy of Belarus (http://www.belarusembassy.org/) for a full English translation. After the speech, we continued to watch the special New Year’s Eve programs, which were very similar to those in the United States. One big difference, besides the presidential address, was that no one kissed me at midnight. As my boyfriend was back home in Texas, I didn’t mind the lack of affection.

Not long after midnight, we lit some sparkles and enjoyed the barrage of fireworks that were exploding all around the flat and throughout the city. It was somewhere around the sparkles that I began to lose track of time… Сбета invited me to go with her to the center to enjoy the huge party and concert, but I was in no condition to travel. She left with her cousin and I somehow managed to help clear the table and then promptly fell asleep on the living room couch. I vaguely remember seeing Father Frost place gifts under the New Year’s tree, which was right next to my bed.

The next thing I knew it was 2:00 pm on New Year’s Day, my head was killing me, and someone was offering me a cup of champagne. You know the saying, “A hair of the dog that bit you.” The worst part was that Сбета’s dad had woken up at 9:00 am to play football (aka soccer) with his friends! A piece of advice to my fellow Americans: When it comes to drinking vodka, never ever try to keep up with a Russian or a Belarusian! Better yet, make it anyone from any country that has ever had anything to do with Russia. It’s in their blood I tell you! It’s in their blood!