Ukraine Confusion
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Bread and Water
I think it would be cool to have a
post called “The Lion and the Cobra” or “The Serpent and the Rainbow” or maybe
“The Dragon and the Tiger” but today’s post is merely called “Bread and Water”
Water came before bread so that’s
where I’ll initiate this blog post. The water situation is a little out of the
ordinary in Ukraine .
I haven’t really had any tribulations in Kharkiv brushing my teeth with the tap
water but I did have one bad case of Montezuma’s revenge during a trip to Odessa ,
(I’ll spare you the details). I use water straight from the faucet to make
coffee/tea and occasionally during cooking but this has caused frowns among the
locals. I have noticed the shampoo receptacles in my shower develop a white
coating on them after a few weeks so I’m confident that I don’t want to be drinking
this mysterious liquid, (Or even put it in my iron). So like most expats I just
purchase some bottled water at the grocery store. This is a little odd for me
because I never buy bottled water in the United States .
I have always lived in a area where it was fine to drink the water that comes
out of the public pipes. If I was going to be “out and about” especially hiking
I would just put some iced tap H20 in a hard plastic reusable water container. I
hate the idea of all those empty plastic bottles ending up in a landfill or the
ocean. Never the less, today at the supermarket, I bought some more water for about
eighty one cents apiece. Strangely enough a chilled Budweiser (a recent discovery
for me in Kharkov maybe because of
Euro 2012?) could be bought for the same exact price. I’m drinking some of that
cold water as I’m writing. The thought that I might want to run in the morning
is keeping the King of Beers at arms length. Of course, .81 cents is a lot for
water so there is another option for the thrifty. From time to time a water
truck will pull up to the apartment building while beeping his horn. This is a
sign to bring your empty bottles down to get them refilled for about half
price. The only time I think these trucks are used in America
are at oil drilling sites or if the National Guard needs to distribute water
due to some emergency. I only live on the third floor but still I’m not going
to refill my bottles to save forty cents. Then again, that would give me more
money for beer and be better for the environment. Too bad I can not use the
savings to buy a Colorado Silver Bullet.
A water truck outside my apartment |
When I go out to dinner with people
that are new to Ukraine ,
I always have them try the Kvass (квас) if it is on the menu. At my favorite
Ukrainian restaurant in Odessa I
usually order a pitcher to start the meal. Kvass is a fermented drink that according
to the modern recipe is prepared from rye bread. To me it sort of tastes like
watered down apple juice. It may have a slight alcohol content and is usually
flavored with fruit or herbs. Kvass has been an accepted drink in Eastern
Europe (including Russian, Ukraine ,
the Baltic States and Belarus )
for over a thousand years and has been mentioned in books like War and Peace
and Anna Karenina. Some of my ancestors came from Lithuania
over 100 years ago and I’m sure they were disappointed that it was hard to find
in America . Maybe
they made a homemade version for years until that skill was forgotten in my
family. During my earliest trip to Ukraine ,
I was possibly the first person in my family to consume it in eighty plus years? Kvass
used to be only available in the summer but now you can find bottles of it in
the stores year round. A sure sign of spring is when the venders start selling
it on the streets. Coca-Cola and Pepsi
have their own brands of Kvass in Russia
so McDonalds isn’t the only blue chip trying to vacuum up some rubles. Most of
my friends appreciated the fact that I had them sample this drink. However, I
told one friend about it that arrived in Ukraine
to teach before me. He bought a cup from a street vender, tasted it and then promptly
but the cup on the ground next to a wall. I guess it is an acquired taste?
A Kvass street vender near my metro station |
Posted by John
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Easter
Today is Easter Sunday in Ukraine .
This may seem out of the ordinary to Westerners that celebrated this holiday
last week but this is a result of the difference between calendars. The West
uses the Julian and the east uses the Gregorian. (Next year the days will be
celebrated over a month apart but then in 2014 they will occur on the exact
date.)
There are some similarities in the
celebrations between the two cultures but there are also some major
differences. In the Roman Catholic Church, (and also with some Protestant
religions), Easter week really starts with Palm Sunday. This is the Sunday
before Easter when the churches in the west will distribute palm leaves. The
Friday after this is called Good Friday. The more religious may attend a
performance of the “Stations of the Cross.” These are religious holidays in the
US and not usually
secular ones. However, strangely enough the US
stock markets are closed on Good Friday and it is a holiday in twelve states. In
the United States
on Easter morning children will awake and try to locate their Easter baskets.
The previous night they were left out empty but by this time they should be
filled with jelly beans, chocolate eggs and marshmallow bunnies or chicks by
the nocturnal and legendary Easter Bunny. Adults may also exchange Easter candy
and the test of true love is not to bite the ears off of your sweetheart’s
chocolate, (hopefully solid!), Easter rabbit.
Many people will attend church on Sunday and later have a big dinner at
home (usually a ham or some lamb) or at a restaurant. Easter morning sunrise
services are very popular. Other events planned for the day/week may include the
New York City parade, Easter egg
hunts, decorating eggs, or just showing off your newest spring clothing. Even
the President of the United States
gets into the act by hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House
lawn.
In Ukraine
things are a little different. First of all Palm Sunday is Pussy Willow Sunday
probably because palm leaves were hard to obtain in the east. Good Friday has a
different name as well. It is known as Great Friday or Passion Friday. In the
Russian Orthodox Church Easter mass is celebrated on Saturday night and it
lasts ALL night. As far as I know there isn’t much of a candy exchange or egg
rolls but egg decorating is very important. My understanding is that the
traditional way to dye the eggs is by using the skin of an onion. The chief
color for egg dyeing is red, (this symbolizes the blood of Christ); so perhaps
they use red onions?
One thing that definitely is
different is that the Russian people will make Easter Cakes (AKA as Easter
Bread), which are called “kulich”. This cake is baked in tall tins almost like
coffee cans. They usually have raisins inside and have a white icing with the
letters XB on them. XB is represents the Cyrillic letters for “Christos
Voskres”, Christ has risen. These are brought to church with other food such as
eggs, to be blessed by the priest. Many people will bake their own but it is simple
enough to buy them in the supermarket or on the street. Also there may be a competition
of banging eggs (egg tapping) together to see who has the strongest. People
also drink a wine called “Kagor” that they obtain from their church. The Monday
after Easter is usually a non-working day. The following Sunday people will
visit cemeteries for the Commemoration of the dead.
I’m not sure about a custom in Ukraine
of showing off new spring clothing but as the weather got warmer I started to
spot the return of the T-Shirts that girls wear that have the English message,
“Say Me Yes”. When I first saw these during the summer, I thought maybe it was
the name of a local band when in fact it is just bad grammar.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Let the Good Times Roll
It was very
interesting last week in Ukraine .
For the practicing Christian
(including Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists) in America ,
last week saw the start of Lent. The Lenten season starts with Ash Wednesday. This
is a odd religious holiday where ashes are placed in the sign of a cross on the
foreheads of the observers. The ashes come from the burned palms that are used
on Palm Sunday. For the uninformed this can be an unusual day because you see
people walking around with what you think is common soot on their foreheads.
The date of Ash Wednesday can change from year to year because it is based on
when Easter is celebrated. Most people think of Lent as being from Ash
Wednesday until Easter but it is actually really up to Holy Thursday (the day
of the Last Supper). The days before and including Easter are part of their own
mini-season rather than a component of Lent.
Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat
Tuesday, is also celebrated during this week. (More precisely it occurs on the day
before Ash Wednesday.) This day is also known as Shrove Tuesday and is the date
when you should confess all your sins before the start of Lent. This is more of
a cultural celebration prior to the fasting season of Lent. Mardi Gras can be
celebrated over a few days with parades and parties that include the wearing of
masks, costumes and beads. If you see a woman with a great number of beads you
might ask her how they were obtained! This holiday is not traditionally observed
in North America other than in ethnic French cities like
Quebec and New
Orleans . Of course, the worlds most famous Mardi Gras
is celebrated as Carnival in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil .
Let me get back to the wonderful
week in Ukraine .
First of all we are still talking about Lent but in the Eastern Orthodox
religion it starts on a Monday. This Monday is called Clean Monday because on
the day before, Forgiveness Sunday, you should have asked for absolution for
all your sins. This period in Russia
and Ukraine is
called pancake or Maslenitsa week. This was originally a pagan ritual that
became a Christian holiday. Be aware that we are not talking about the same
pancakes that are found at IHOP. These are called bliny and except for the potential
to have yeast, they are thin and similar to crepes. These can be topped with caviar,
jam, sour cream, meat and butter. In fact, the word Maslenitsa comes
from the Russian word for butter. In the distant past the pancakes were eaten
to celebrate the passing of winter and the coming of spring. They are said to
represent the sun because they are warm and round. As part of the religious celebration
they are eaten to fatten up on the meat, dairy and eggs that you should not be
eating during Lent. Maslenitsa is becoming a bigger and bigger holiday in
cities such as Moscow . I was told
by my students that something is actually supposed to be celebrated each day, such as one day where men are fed pancakes by their mother-in-laws, one day for
sleigh riding and another day to visit god parents. Unfortunately, no one seemed to
be able to come up with a complete list of these special days. I was surprised because I
actually was given the impression that I knew more about this week than some of my students but that
may not be that unusual because of the suppression of religion during Soviet
times. The week ended on Sunday when a large Maslenitsa doll was burned to say
goodbye to winter. Additional Maslenitsa events can also include group fist
fights, performing bears, singing and fireworks. Of course there is also plenty
of vodka to go around.
There was a bonus holiday during
this week in 2012. The week of Maslenitsa like Ash Wednesday can change from year to year but
The Motherland Defender Day is always on February 23rd which fell on
Thursday of last week. Some people like to call this former Soviet Army Day as
“Men’s Day” but other than some presents from women or maybe some special activities at work it can not be compared to International Women’s Day that falls on March 8th.
Posted by John
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