First Holiday Season in Georgia

When you're a westerner living in an Orthodox post-Soviet country, you really get much more utility out of "Happy Holidays" than "Merry Christmas," because here in Georgia, there are five holidays to celebrate before the season draws to a close, not just Christmas and New Year like in the US. Now that these holidays have passed, I wanted to share with you a little about how we celebrate here in Tbilisi!

1. Western Christmas (Dec 25)
Often called "Catholic Christmas" or "American Christmas," this is not observed at all in Russia/Georgia. This year was my first ever Christmas away from my family, and I was so incredibly blessed to have my sister come visit me! Since the 25th was a Monday, and normal working day here, I took off my classes and spent the day just relaxing at home with my sister. In the morning, we opened presents to each other and from family in the US, much of which was candy which we then spent the day eating.

It wasn't at all like an American Christmas, and I honestly wouldn't want to do it again unless I had to. I love Christmas traditions and for me it's always been such a day focused on family that it was really hard to be without them. If Riyana hadn't been here, I probably would have spent the day just like any other, in order to get my mind off what I was missing. The one good thing about Christmas in Georgia is that when the day ends, the holiday season isn't over! The streets are still bustling with people buying gifts, light displays have just barely been set up, and there is still an air of anticipation and excitement everywhere. 

my Christmas decorations

I don't even remember which holiday dinner this was

2. New Year (Dec 31/Jan 1)
This is the big one. New Year's Eve is the most exciting day of the year for most Georgians. It is traditionally celebrated by sleeping in to build strength for the all-night festivities, then a late, long family dinner, culminating with a magnificent city-wide fireworks display, champagne toasts, and singing along to Mravaljamier on the TV. Then, young people go guesting. In small groups, friends in their teens and 20s will bounce from house to house, greeting their friends' families with New Year's wishes, eating a small plate at every house and becoming continuously more drunk as the night goes on. Typically somewhere around 3 am, lights begin to flick off throughout the city and drunk, full, sleepy eyes close until late the next afternoon.

Did I follow all these beautiful New Year's rules and traditions? No. We all celebrated a lovely evening at Bacho's family's house, and by 1:30 am Riyana and I were gracefully passed out on the couch, stomachs bulging full of roast pork and khachapuri, mouths stained with wine.

As food is probably the most important part of the night, here is a short list of what is traditionally on a Georgian New Year's table:

satsivi - a spiced walnut paste with boiled chicken (served cold)

churchkhela - a string of walnuts dipped in thickened grape juice

gozinaki - walnuts fried in honey (sort of like granola)

pkhali - eggplant strips stuffed with eggplant/walnut mix

khachapuri - cheese bread

aaaaaand pork. this was a table decoration and also a source of snacks (pig ear)

and, of course, lots of wine, both bottled and homemade!

January 2nd is called "bedoba," and the day is a prediction of how the rest of the year will go. If you get in fights, it will be a year of conflict. If you find some money, it will be an economically fruitful year, etc... This year, on January 2nd, we went skiing! So maybe it will be a year of falling on my ass?

 

3. Orthodox Christmas (Jan 7)
The Orthodox version of Christmas is on the 7th, reflecting the old Julian calendar. It is a rather subdued holiday, with most people marking it by going to church (sometimes a midnight, 3-hour-long formal service), and a family dinner.

Georgian Christmas tree, called a "chichilaki"
- made with curled wood strips!

Most people have the week from the 1st-8th off work, and spend most days drinking and eating and visiting friends. We went skiing in the resort town of Bakuriani, along with what seemed like half the region. I've never seen that many people in any Georgian city outside of Tbilisi! It was mostly Georgians, Armenians, Azeris, and Russians with the occasional Iranian, Chinese, or American thrown in.


 

4. Old New Year (Jan 14)
Most people went back to work on Jan 8th for a slow, difficult week of readjustment before Old New Year on Jan 14th pretty much closes out the season. Riyana was gone by this time, but it was marked essentially the same way as Orthodox Christmas - dinners (yes, plural - the second of which again ended with me asleep on the couch...) with family and friends.

Bacho's work also held it's holiday party at a nice restaurant/event hall on Sunday (the office's start time was pushed back to 11 am on Monday!). It was elegant and fun, and there was WAY too much food.


5. Epiphany (Jan 19)
The final holiday of the winter season is Epiphany! Such a beautiful name for a holiday, I feel like it should always have an exclamation point after it...

Before getting into Eurasian/Orthodox studies, I had never heard of Epiphany(!). In the western/Catholic Church, it's on Jan 6th, but here it's the 19th (that Julian calendar again). The Orthodox say the day recognizes Christ's baptism in the Jordan, and subsequently, it involves the faithful jumping into freezing cold water, or water being poured on them by priests. Interestingly - while Eastern Europeans generally have a neurotic fear of being wet outside, that it will make them get sick, Epiphany is an exception - since the water is blessed, it can't make you sick.

I didn't see much of Epiphany(!) in action in Tbilisi other than most people getting a day of work, and the roads and buses being totally empty on my way to class. I did experience the holiday in St. Petersburg, though, where it's even colder than Tbilisi, and it was really a sight to be seen. It's quite the experience to take an evening stroll along the waterfront in a warm jacket, watching the faithful and brave take the plunge.

NOTE: while it is now January 21st, I still cannot report on when Christmas music will stop being played everywhere...