Five favourite things since my childhood: THE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION

2. THE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION

Snow was not the only attraction for me at winter time. There was another one – the New Year celebration. Though my parents didn't have any guests except my aunt, and my mother didn't cook any special meal I had a festive joyful feeling about this holiday. That was a favourite red-letter day for both: for children and for adults. There were New Year decorations everywhere: at school, in the streets and shops. A huge fir-tree was decorated in the main square of the city. It was made of a metallic frame and a lot of fir-tree boughs but it didn't matter. All the children stared at it in admiration - it was so tall and glittering and multicoloured.

At home we could enjoy our TV programmes – much more interesting and diverse than usual. At that time there were really good films and cartoons with fairy-tale plots and a lot of snow in them. 

 

My father received a pretty looking package with sweets, cookies and one or two tangerines at his plant for me. Another package I got after I watched the New Year performance at the Theatre for young spectators and the third one – at primary school. 

 

The whole world seemed to try to persuade us that a fairy tale was possible in the ordinary life. It was so easy to believe it when you were a child. My parents were setting the New Year tree for me till I was eleven or twelve. There were a lot of different fir-tree toys in our shops and every family had their own unique set of New Year decorations. So we used to visit each other to compare our fir-trees and discuss whose tree was the best. When my mother refused to set the New Year tree for me because she got tired of cleaning its needles I was really upset. I didn't want to say farewell to my childhood. 

 

My fir-tree stays in my memory decorated with shining multicoloured balls and figures of animals and fairy-tale heroes. Silvery threads of tinsel glitter like ice and white lumps of cotton imitate snow. Sweets and apples are hanging on its boughs. They seemed much tastier if you cut them off the branches. 

 

There weren't any presents under my fir-tree. Only Grandfather Frost and his pretty granddaughter in their white fur coats and caps were traditionally standing there. My parents came from a village and they didn't understand a habit of townspeople to buy different rather useless things because of some holiday or someone's birthday. I felt upset of course when my parents or my aunt forgot about my birthdays - especially as my friends constantly boasted about their presents. 

 

Fortunately it was not a widespread custom to put presents under the New Year tree at the time of my childhood. So I felt completely happy watching two small figures standing alone under my fir-tree. They just stood there to remind us that a new circle of our existence had begun and we had to enjoy it.

1.  THE SNOW