Igor surprised us all with his accordion playing skills. I surprised people with my singing of Очи Черные - Ochi Chorniye (Dark eyes) a Russian folk song. I sang along to his playing and he got faster. I kept up for a couple cycles and then gave in.
Dan and I sang Silent Night to Igor's playing. Unfortunately, Abigail decided she was scared of the accordion and Melody had to take her out of the room.
3 comments:
"Happy Old New Year?" I presume that people don't actually say that? I wonder if people kind of observe days on both calendars, or mostly choose one or the other system?
Here in Western Canada, we have a lot of Ukrainians that came here about 100 years ago. (The older ones, and increasingly the younger ones, still speak Ukrainian, never having been forced to speak Russian. They are very proud of their heritage.) Many of them observe Christmas on the Julian calendar, but the funny thing is that most people refer to Jan. 7 as "Ukrainian Christmas" (and usually with a straight face, too!) Often they are given the day off work as a courtesy; its a regular work day for the country. As a return courtesy, some Ukrainians will volunteer to work Dec. 25 at places that cannot close down for Christmas; hospitals etc. As far as I can tell, Old New Year is ignored. Interestingly, there are both Catholic and Orthodox Ukrainians here, but it appears that both groups observe Ukrainian Christmas. But these observances are far from universal; I would guess that mostly the more devout and/or traditional Ukrainians observe the old calendar. One thing is universal: if you're Ukrainian you have to endure the good-natured ribbing you get from the rest of us.
Tell Dan he should learn to play the accordian. I have a big old one here that used to be Grandpa W's.
No, people actually say С старым новым годом. "With the old new year." They are serious. People celebrate both, but January 1st is bigger.
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