Hilary SKEELS
ALMATY, Dec 24
(Specially for the GLOBE)
As a new contributor to �The Globe� I would like to introduce myself as Hilary. I�m
studying in the UK and I spend part of
the year in Almaty. I�ve lived here since 1995 and this year will celebrate my fourth
Christmas in Kazakstan.
My family Christmases in Almaty are always a slightly strange hybrid of Western yuletide
tradition � a large family lunch
complete with turkey and stuffing, watching the Queen�s annual speech; and Kazak New
Year traditions such as toasts to
the year ahead, lots of vodka and exchanging gifts based around the animal of the new
Chinese year.
In some ways, the manner in which the two cultures celebrate their holidays are quite
similar. The stores are full of gifts
and special Christmas sales, all the shops are decorated with gaudy Santa Clauses,
flashing lights and tinsel, Christmas
trees are put up and surrounded by presents, and of course, there is a holiday from work
and school. It is, traditionally, a
time for family and close friends, when people who do not see each other regularly can
catch up and reflect on the year.
It cannot be denied that Christmas and New Year are becoming more and more commercialized,
wherever you go �
children become obsessed with what presents they are going to give and be given, and
especially in the Western world,
the original Christmas story is often forgotten and the Christian meaning of Christmas
ignored. Stores all over the world
go into marketing and advertising overdrive, even broadcasting how many shopping days left
till Christmas. Some
people claim that the blatant materialism and lack of religion in these celebrations
render them pointless, but surely the
love that is evident among families and friends at this time makes it something special,
and marks it as a distinctive
event which only happens once a year.
The differences in the traditions are in some ways very distinct: In Kazakstan and many
other countries, there is no
holiday on December 25th, Christmas Day � schools and businesses carry on as normal. In
the West, school will have
stopped a week or two before and will resume after the New Year. In Kazakstan, gifts are
exchanged on New Years eve,
when a large family meal also takes place � Whereas the main family celebration in the
West is doubtless Christmas.
New Years eve is much less of a family thing, and is generally when people go out with
their friends and celebrate
without exchanging gifts.
Although things may be celebrated differently, and the traditions may vary, it is one of
the joys of Christmas and New
Year that they can unite people wherever they are, and show that cultural differences do
not matter by their joyful
message of goodwill to all men and with the new year, a fresh start for us all.
22/12/1937 - Eduard Uspenskiy, writer, creator of such heroes of Russian multiplication
as Cheburashka, crocodile Gena
and cat Matroskin.
22/12/1939 - Gloria Jacobs became the first girl to hold a world pistol record as she shot
299 out of a possible 300 points.
Even better, young Gloria was only 17 years old. She bettered the world mark by one point.
We wouldn�t argue with her,
that�s for sure...
23/12/1919 - The first ship designed to be used as an ambulance to transport sick and
wounded patients was launched.
The hospital ship was named USS �Relief� and had 515 beds.
23/12/1947 - John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley invented the transistor
on this day (they shared the
1956 Nobel prize in physics for their work). The device was referred to as the electronic
engineer�s dream. In its original
form, the transistor wasn�t the tiny silicon component we know today. It took up a lot
of space in the lab in New Jersey
where it was invented. Today, thousands of transistors can be packed into an incredibly
minute space, smaller than a
pinhead; and is used in electronic applications, such as computers, radios, TVs and video
games, to name just a few.
23/12/1986 - Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager became the first airplane pilots to make a
non-stop trip around the world
without refueling. The couple guided their �Voyager� on the record-setting, but
harrowing and uncomfortable flight to and
from Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California.
24/12/1906 - James Hedli Chase, English writer - the author of detective books.
24/12/1946 - Leonid Philatov, Russian actor.
24/12/1948 - The first, completely solar-heated house was occupied by the first,
solar-heated people in Dover, MA this
day.
24/12/1985 - A graying beard, olive-green uniform and Cuban cigar - once trademarks of
Fidel Castro - were no more.
The Cuban president announced that he was a non-smoker.
25/12/1984 - The first man-made comet was visible in the sky on this Christmas Day. The
sphere of chemicals from a
West German satellite appeared to be yellowish-green, and in the constellation Virgo. Many
thought it was Santa taking
the quick way back to the North Pole.
26/12/1949 - Michael Boyarskiy, Russian actor and singer.
26/12/1982 - The Man of the Year in �TIME� magazine was a non-human for the first time.
A computer received the
honors as 1982�s �greatest influence for good or evil.�
27/12/1938 - For the first time in USSR was introduced rank Hero of Socialist Work.
LastChrrristmas
Last Christmas
I gave you my heart&127;
But the very next day you gave it away
This year
To save me from tears
I�ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year
To save me from tears
I�ll give it to someone special
Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance
But you still catch my eye
Tell me baby
Do you recognize me?
Well
It�s been a year
It doesn�t surprise me
(Happy Christmas)
I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying �I love you�
I meant it
Now I know what a fool I�ve been
But if you kissed me now
I know you�d fool me again
Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year
To save me from tears
I�ll give it to someone special
A crowded room
Friends with tired eyes
I�m hiding from you
And your soul of ice
My god I thought you were
Someone to rely on
Me?
I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover but you tore me apart
Now I�ve found a real love you�ll never fool me again
Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year
To save me from tears
I�ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year
To save me from tears
I�ll give it to someone special
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover buy you tore him apart
Maybe next year I�ll give it to someone
I�ll give it to someone special.