Spring holidays

This time of year is absolutely full of holidays in Ukraine. Last Sunday was Orthodox Easter, so Monday was a holiday. Today (Thursday) is International Labor Day, so both it and Friday are holidays. (Earlier Shawn asked me why Friday was a day off as well, and I told him to “stop complaining Mister I-get-23-holidays-a-year.” Actually, I think it’s because all the Ukrainians want the long weekend so that they can get out to their dachas and get them ready for summer.) And finally, next Friday is Victory Day, otherwise known as the now defunct VE Day in the US. And of course, we have Memorial Day at the end of the month. We are still American, you know.

So last Sunday, we ventured out to the new Auchan hypermarket in the northern part of town. We assumed that since it was Easter, it would be quieter than normal at the store, and we were right. It was still busy, but I didn’t feel suicidal after the first aisle like I usually do at the grocery stores here. We didn’t really look much at the non-food departments, but they had an amazing meat and fish selection. And 90 check-out counters, most of which were open when we were there. With the aforementioned lack of customers, it seemed a little like overkill.

The first thing we noticed when we walked in was that the first two aisles of the grocery part of the store were filled with paska, a bread that is traditionally eaten on Easter. So I thought it was kind of weird that there were hundreds of loaves still in the store on Easter. Shouldn’t good Ukrainians have stocked up on their paska already? I mean, you’re supposed to get it blessed before you eat it anyway, so anyone that didn’t have theirs yet was seriously running out of time. But it was amazing to see the people buying loaves and loaves. I finally figured out that the big sign at the front of the store said they were Buy 2, Get 1 Free, and at a little over a dollar each, they were a pretty good bargain, but I still couldn’t believe how people were filling their carts with the stuff. And the staff kept bringing more boxes out!

Finally, as we were getting ready to leave, I looked at Shawn and said, “I know were not going to like it, but it’s our last Easter here.” (Yes, I am going to spend the next year referring to our “last” everything.) So we bought a loaf of paska. And when we decided it was time to eat it, we also decided that it would taste better with a shot of vodka (for all we know, that’s the traditional way to eat it anyway). However, not even the vodka could help this stuff. It was like eating dense, stale Hawaiian bread. So it pretty much lived up to our expectations.

However, our paska experience was not entirely bad as our housekeeper brought us some that she had made herself. Much, much better tasting than the cardboard purchased loaf. Of course, she told me that it took her 12 hours to make it, and I really have to question the worth of anything that requires that much of one’s time. I guess this is why they only have it once a year.