A short Christmas poem

Merry Christmas!!! :)

Or as it's celebrated in Ukraine and Russia, Happy Just-Another-Work-Day. There was one time my boss paid me to take the day off (saying, "I know this is a big holiday on your country") but otherwise, it simply meant five more days of waiting/preparing before the New Year's Eve parties began.

This year I have a Christmas poem for you. It was written by Vladimir Aleksandrovich Prichodko, who was born in Odessa in 1935. He was, among other things, a children's poet.

Всей семьею в этот вечер Соберемся за столом. Скажет мама: - Может, свечи Ради праздника зажжем? Электричество погасим Обойдёмся без него. И торжественно украсим Общий ужин в Рождество. Пусть огонь веселый скачет Над малиновой свечой, А подсвечник тихо плачет Стеариновой слезой.

Tonight, the whole family Will gather at the table. Mother will say: Maybe, we'll light candles To celebrate the holiday? We'll turn off the lights, We'll get by without them. And our shared Christmas dinner Will become a work of art. Let the happy flame dance Above the crimson candle. As quietly, the candlestick Weeps a waxen tear.

I went with my parents to their usual Christmas tree farm on the outskirts of Portland. It was absolutely silent out there that day.

We ended up eventually coming back to the very first tree we'd seen, cutting it down, and lashing it to the roof of the car.

Chili had a great time running around and sniffing everything :p

Meanwhile, the city of Portland has had its tree up since early November. It's a 75-foot tree (just a bit shorter than Kyiv's tree), decorated with over 14,000 Christmas lights.

If you'd like to read more about celebrating the holidays in Ukraine, here are a few older posts for you-

A Very Champagne Christmas is Coming
New Years and Other News
The Holidays Are Coming! 
Ukrainian New Year
2013 Christmas in Ukraine
Merry (Orthodox) Christmas!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! :) How will you celebrate?