Tuesday, January 02, 2007

New Year

New Year is the big holiday for Russians. New Year, as Vasilisa puts it, is a totally secular mix of Christmas, Halloween and New Year's. Kids dress up in costumes, presents are exchanged, a New Year's tree is decorated, Grandfather Frost (Santa) does his rounds, there’s lots of food and all-night revelry, people get drunk, etc.

Americans often assume that Russian immigrants, many of whom are Jewish, celebrate Hanukkah. This isn’t so in my experience. Hanukkah is a totally foreign holiday for Russians, most of whom weren’t aware of its existence before coming to the U.S. I remember my mom dutifully lighting a menorah, given to us by Jewish Family Services, our first year here. This ritual was unusual; her heart wasn’t in it. We put up a tree, which shocked the Jewish Family Services volunteer who was helping us adjust to life in the States. “A Christmas tree?” he said, arching his eyebrows. My mom shot back that it’s a New Year’s tree, not a Christmas tree. Next year, the menorah stayed in the box.

In my family New Year is not as big a deal as it was back in the old country. When we came to the U.S. I wanted to celebrate Christmas, like the rest of the kids at school. I wanted a Christmas tree put up in early December, not a few days before Jan. 31. I wanted to open presents on Christmas morning. I wanted stockings hung above a fireplace and Christmas carols and all the rest. My parents weren’t terribly enthusiastic about the whole thing, but they obliged me. Later, however, they had American friends who did celebrate Christmas, so we got invited to quite a few Christmas dinners over the years. Having a big dinner and exchanging presents on Christmas day stuck.

Taking up new traditions doesn’t mean you give up the old ones. We still celebrate New Year Russian-style these days: that is, we sit around on New Year’s eve and eat. The best part of a Russian New Year is the food, usually a buffet of appetizers and snacks, chased down by vodka. According to my dad, this was more fun in Soviet Russia, where a food-laden table on New Year’s made a pleasant contrast to daily food shortages. You stood in line for hours on Jan. 31 to buy a pineapple; you ran all over town to find this or that delicacy. Why get excited about stuffing your face here in America, where you can buy pineapple year-round and eat more than your fill every day?

I say because it’s a pleasant tradition. I have to note, though, that our New Year's feasts have gotten smaller and smaller every year. Here’s what we had this year:

Red caviar canapes. Slice a baguette into rounds, spread a little softened butter on each slice and top with a teaspoon of caviar. Below is potato-beef salad, a classic Russian winter salad. Cook a piece of beef chuck as if making stock. Cut the cooled meat into cubes, combine with cooked, cubed potatoes, cucumbers, pickles, green peas, parsley and a mayo-based dressing. To the right is shrimp and cocktail sauce. Oops, that’s quite American.

Eggs stuffed with sautéed mushrooms and onions.

That's smoked eel beneath the pickles. I prefer smoked herring.

Napoleon, a once-a-year treat. I wrote about it here.

19 comments:

vasilisa said...

I've got to show this post to my hubs... He thinks we are the only ones who have Napoleon and Olivie every New Year...

Anonymous said...

hi yulinka :) a lot of the (russian jewish) families here celebrate new year with a new year's tree. i remember the comments made about that one, too!

i guess it does look odd to the outsider in that it is always associated with Xmas. did the menorah remain in the box forever after that?

however you celebrate it, peace, health and happiness be upon you :)

Anonymous said...

hi yulinka :) a lot of the (russian jewish) families here celebrate new year with a new year's tree. i remember the comments made about that one, too!

i guess it does look odd to the outsider in that it is always associated with Xmas. did the menorah remain in the box forever after that?

however you celebrate it, peace, health and happiness be upon you :)

Anonymous said...

hi yulinka :) a lot of the (russian jewish) families here celebrate new year with a new year's tree. i remember the comments made about that one, too!

i guess it does look odd to the outsider in that it is always associated with Xmas. did the menorah remain in the box forever after that?

however you celebrate it, peace, health and happiness be upon you :)

Anonymous said...

hi yulinka :) a lot of the (russian jewish) families here celebrate new year with a new year's tree. i remember the comments made about that one, too!

i guess it does look odd to the outsider in that it is always associated with Xmas. did the menorah remain in the box forever after that?

however you celebrate it, peace, health and happiness be upon you :)

Anonymous said...

hi yulinka :) a lot of the (russian jewish) families here celebrate new year with a new year's tree. i remember the comments made about that one, too!

i guess it does look odd to the outsider in that it is always associated with Xmas. did the menorah remain in the box forever after that?

however you celebrate it, peace, health and happiness be upon you :)

Anonymous said...

hi yulinka :) a lot of the (russian jewish) families here celebrate new year with a new year's tree. i remember the comments made about that one, too!

i guess it does look odd to the outsider in that it is always associated with Xmas. did the menorah remain in the box forever after that?

however you celebrate it, peace, health and happiness be upon you :)

Mrs. M. said...

burekaboy--The menorah just never caught on. My parents still put up a tree, but I don't care about all the Christmas trappings much anymore.

Anonymous said...

Privet Yulinka,

I just stumbled upon your blog while searching for a vatrushki recipe and have been reading a few older posts.

My boyfriend is Russian, so I've been trying to make some traditional Russian recipes (more for my own entertainment, since it's all food to him). Your latest post has inspired me to attempt borscht this weekend, I think...

Anyways, on the topic of New Years: Shortly after my boyfriend and I began dating, I had the same shocked reaction as the JFS worker upon walking into my his family's house and finding a 'Christmas tree' in a Jewish household. Of course, I had no idea about New Years at the time. Now we both light the menorah and exchange New Years gifts. Who could pass up a good excuse to decorate a tree, exchange presents, eat and drink?

Enjoying the blog,
Ahava Jora

Anonymous said...

Oh how wonderful! I found you while searching for various recipes for eggplant caviar, and I'm so glad. My husband's family is Russian and that spread of yours looks just like their table, any time they have guests. And the napoleon! Gorgeous.

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FriendyAnil said...

My Italian grandmothers never added sugar to their tomato sauces. I have a friend who insists that anyone with culinary integrity knows that you add sugar in order to cut the acid. I don't find well-prepared tomato sauces to have an acidic taste.

What exactly does "cut the acid" mean? And does sugar actually do that?
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Menstrual cramp relief said...

The food looks really nice. Do you know that the kind of food eaten could have effect on the female mesntrual cycle. Indeed lots of females can achieve Menstrual Cramp Relief by eating the right food

Anonymous said...

The food looks really nice. Do you know that the kind of food eaten could have effect on the female mesntrual cycle. Indeed lots of females can achieve Menstrual Cramp Relief by eating the right food

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Unknown said...

what would you say is the traditional food you'd expect in russia on new years eve. it has to be one ofe these, not a mixture

1. champagne and clementines
2. vodka and borscht
3. pancakes with sour cream
4. beluga caviar

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