One of my most vivid childhood memories is that of decorating a New Year tree. It was still the Soviet times, so we barely mentioned Christmas/Nativity. Instead, the whole country celebrated New Year. In my family we traditionally unwrapped, set up and decorated a New Year tree on December 31st. There were balls of different sizes, icicles and pines, bells and all sorts of figurines: a Spaceman, a Dog, a Cat, Gena the Crocodile, a Cucumber, and two sets of characters from the Russian fairy tales, Morozko and Ryaba the Hen. Most of them have survived to this day, and that is at least 43 years, if not more.
Decorating a tree with these delicate fragile objects was as solemn as attending a mass. I’m not sure I’d spent the whole year waiting for this occasion. But once December 31st was there I couldn’t wait to help my mother put those toys on the New Year tree’s branches. It was a very family thing.
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