Things that go boom

Fireworks!

My family didn't do fireworks growing up. My dad said it was burning up money. One year I set off fireworks with friends in Prescott, another year in Waitsburg, one year in Kansas at a family reunion, and one year a renter had left some sparklers and a few other things behind and so we lit them in the road and made some gun powder trails with some gunpowder my dad had laying around. That was it. The other years, we either drove around and looked at everyone else's fireworks or went into Walla Walla and spent the day at my aunts and then went to watch the firework show at Pioneer Park.

Yesterday, we bought fireworks. Despite Alister's protest that we would only celebrate November 5th, some friends invited us for a picnic and that was that. There is a firework stand by our house and I've been dying to buy fireworks since I first saw it 4 years ago. So I conferred with our hosts, took up a collection, and bought fireworks. 3 fountains, a pack of flowers, a pack of bugs, 3 salutes, 4 rockets, 2 roman candles. You don't really know what you're getting when you haven't really done fireworks yourself and haven't quite mastered all the explosive vocabulary connected to them. But the seller assured me that it would be pretty. I forgot to ask if it would be loud.

The setting, a residential district in Kiev - is not the normal location for fireworks, and when you are setting them off when no one else is - you are very conscious that they are very, very loud. Especially the bugs - we decided not to set any more of them off after the boom activated a couple of car alarms. And so began a series of fortunately harmless mishaps - One rocket refused to launch - so we had a ground level bloom erupt at our feet. Another rocket flew, but the stick landed on a neighbor's roof. The roman candle tipped over, and sent us all running for cover. After the roman candle, we decided it was best to leave the rest of the fireworks for the family to set off in a field another day. I also concluded that fireworks are most fun for the children who want to light them and that the rest of the time, we are better off going to a show. Alister concluded that my dad was closest to the truth - they just burn up money - and though the fountains, and the 26 salute box were lovely and presented no mishap - I think we've both gotten our fill of fireworks for a long time.

Saphira by the way did fantastic - a bit startled with the boom bug - but she was nestled away in the Ergo and was more sleepy than scared for the rest of the fireworks. We did get her to say oooooh along with us as the fountains burned - but the rest was a bit much though, as I said before, she did not cry.

I don't know what Alister did with the camera, but once I find it I'll post some pictures too.

Thanksgivng

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving - here in Kiev - loads of food - loads of friends - and just a great time all over. 6 families participated - and with that many cooks - of course everyone brought their own desert (pumpkin cheesecake, apple, pumpkin, pecan, chocolate pecan pies, and apple crisp) as well- even with a sliver - I think I ended up eating a whole pie. -

August Spas

Last week, Alister and I visited Pecherska Lavra. It was Saturday the 15th, and we were going there to meet up with an old friend of Alister's from his time in Russia. His friend is Orthodox, and he was only in Kiev for the day in order to visit the monastery.

I was glad to go to the Lavra - it is a lovely place and I had seen signs that on the 14th the Medovi Spas would start. I had heard the year before, that this was great thing to go to, you could buy honey, pollen, wax, propolis, and any number or bee-products from all over Ukraine. Literally, Medovi Spas means "Honey Salvation". But I didn't really understand why or what and so I translated it the Honey festival to anyone I mentioned it to.

Thursday was Jablok Spas. Which literally means "Apple Salvation". A Kyiv Post article detailed the holiday and said people brought their apples to the church to be blessed. The apples (not from our village) have begun to be harvested. The beautiful white-fleshed Slava apples with a deliciously tart flavor. Hmm I thought, If ever there was a pagan tradition that the church was trying to "reclaim" this is it. Stamp out the pagan revelry with a staunch fast but a blessing of the harvest as token.

It turns out, that Honey Spas (August 14th) marks the beginning of one of the strictest Orthodox Fasts, Apple Spas falls in the middle on the Feast Day of the Transfiguration Of Jesus Christ - the fast continues BUT on this day you can eat fish. The fast finally ends on Nut Spas - the Feast of The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (In other words - on the day she supposedly died). In fact, the whole fast was in honor/preparation for her death. At least, it is considerably shorter than Lent which of course is a fast that is in Preparation/Honor of Christ's death and resurrection.

At the Lavra, we sat on the benches on the stone plaza outside of the upper caves. To the left, a long line of people formed, confessing their sins over a Bible to a Priest. Honey vendors lined the road leading to the smaller caves. People crowded about, eating honeycomb, asking for samples, and buying their Honey from what is considered the most holy of places. And there were bees. Swarms of bees around every vender, trying to reclaim the honey that they had worked so hard to make. Bees are such miraculous creatures. To think that God could have made them make not very much honey, so that there would have been only enough for their own needs, but instead a hive can produce so many times more than what they can eat so that we can not only eat the honey, but use the wax, and nibble their pollen and use the propillis to clean our teeth or whatever else it does. But I digress.
But I'm not quite sure what I digress from - My surprise at discovering the meaning of the Spas? The confusion that "Spas" - Salvation would be linked to harvest items - is there confusion - that salvation is from the honey the apples, and the nuts? Or is it a clear reference to Christ - Saviour and gifter of Honey, Apples, and Nuts?

Maybe these are discoveries for another time.

When did you Celebrate St. Patricks Day this year?

So Monday, I was happily minding my own business, wearing green and wishing other American students of Russian a Happy St Patrick's Day. I came home, opened my e-mail and saw that my husband had opened and read the e-card I had sent to him in advance - Being N. Irish - Though not Catholic - he still appreciates St. Patrick - though the American passion for the holiday and the rules about wearing green baffle him.
Did you like the card? I asked him.
Sure, he said, but its not St. Patrick's Day
Of course it is, I said, It's the 17th.
Its holy week
So?
St Patrick's day can't be during holy week.
What are you talking about? St. Patrick's Day is the 17th and today is the 17th.

It's times like this when the internet comes to the rescue - a quick Google and -poof- St. Patrick's day was the 15th!!! Apparently the Catholic church changes the day of the holiday when ever it interferes with Holy Week.

A survey of Americans in Kiev revealed that we had all missed the memo. Even the Christian School observed St Patrick's Day on the 17th and encouraged students to wear green.

So when did you celebrate?