Greeting Cards From Soviet Holidays Past

One can find all sorts of old stuff in Tashkent, plenty of relics, detritus from the Soviet era. For this holiday season, time to look back at how Christmas and New Year's were celebrated in greeting/postcards during Soviet times. Happy Holidays, comrade.

The Kremlin wishes you a Happy New Year. Officially. What, you didn't think that giant communist operations put out corporate greeting cards as if they were IBM?

More of a traditional card, all decked out in folksy design cues. Santa partying with the animals. Tea for him, a carrot for the rabbit. Slurp it down and chomp it up.

Good thing that rabbit has been fed. Forget reindeer, go with a juiced-up bunny.

Rabbits suddenly not available? No problem, Santa can take a rocket ship or even a snowmobile, whatever was hip that year.

Getting back to nature with white birch trees from way up north.

Going with the 1960s-1970s stop motion block look. Giving mad props to local, Uzbek symbols, places. Notice the cotton bud filigree and the center clock graphic featuring the Lenin Museum and the adjacent clock tower on an office building. Cotton is the country's biggest crop and the buildings can still be found in downtown Tashkent.

The space race, planting a tree on the moon. Staked!

Happy Holidays to everyone! It's Sarah's and James' last year in Uzbekistan. Next summer, they will move to Canberra, Australia for three years. A new adventure and new holiday traditions to explore. 

Our First Holiday In Uzbekistan

We have only been in Uzbekistan for a few months. Here's a little tour of what we've discovered.

Hey, it's a Lada. Turns out, they're everywhere. Cool.

The Solar Furnace. Built by the Soviets. Don't ask. Comrades have gun, will hammer. Part of a WWII (The Great Patriotic War) memorial. Wait, who left potatoes in the road? Sure.

Accomplish enough in your military career and they put your face on a vase. A must have! Yes, it does snow in Tashkent. Once. Pretty.

Wherever Sarah and James travel, people want a photo with them. Oh and, in the background, that's the most famous Silk Road site, the Registan.

Wishing you health and adventures in 2022!

Happy New Year! 

С новым годом! 

Yangi yilingiz bilan!

Soli nav muborak!

Celebrating The Holiday In Asia

It's monsoon season in Kuala Lumpur, hardly the type of weather one associates with a traditional winter wonderland of holiday cheer. No matter, Asians know the holiday is for shopping and the universal desire to give and get gifts. Santa is coming and you'd better watch out, indeed.

Getting in the mood.

In a traditional outdoor market, a half-hearted attempt to deck the place.

High fashion winter wear, in 90º heat. Watch out for the girl with green eyes, she means business.

Mall photo-op. In a hotel fantasyland installation, several warnings.

What the..? Yup, a gingerbread mosque. Pretty much impossible to reconcile.

Another hotel, another display with an interesting mashup. The place is near a dinosaur fossil area. For the ladies, a chance to get frisky.

Everyone into the giant holiday ball pool. Consuming mayhem reigns.

Wishing You A Very Random Christmas

In our peripatetic life, we never know what sort of Christmas manifestations we will see.

Polish Prop.

Santa in Sierra Leone (with friends).

Christmas cafe in Catalonia.  Living it up in Lithuania.

Claus at a Christmas market.

What the...? Before you get all potty mouth, there's an excellent explanation. Creches are big in Catalonia and a key ingredient is someone in the background, the caganer. Traditionally, he is a typical Catalonian figure, think farmer, peasant, what have you, and he is busy fertilizing the land for the next season. The symbolism is joy and good luck. If you don't include one of these figures in your creche, you risk a year of misfortune. We'll take the dump.

The caganer has taken off (not just his pants). Moving beyond the traditional Spanish archetypes, you can get caganers of world leaders, movie stars, athletes. Yes, even Santa is ready to unload, and not just presents. Maybe this gives expanded meaning to the above picture that includes Winnie the Pooh.

Wishing you a holiday season full of joy!

Be sure to see our next post for all folks and figures caganer.

Going Deep (Throat) For The Holidays

It's the holidays - so what better place to celebrate than in a nondescript parking garage?

Sarah gets into the spirit, looking happy and festive. Rock them reindeer antlers!

But who's James whispering to? Giving Santa a secret list?

Reveal the gift, Sarah.

Yup, Jame and Sarah got their holiday spirit on at the garage made famous by...

You know you've come a long way as a nation when a historical place related to a national disgrace is deserving of a plaque that even includes the infamous words:

Fantastic! Wishing you a scandal-free holiday season!