Ninooba e.g. St. Nino's Day

The introduction

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all doing just fine!

In this article I want to tell you about this day, that people celebrate in Georgia and it’s called Ninooba, which means St. Nino’s day. It’s a holiday, when everyone celebrates Ninooba and it’s a great day, because it has a huge and important and significant meaning to Georgians.

Well, St. Nino was the one, who brought orthodoxy in Georgia and fought for it to be believed.

The tradition in Ninotsminda

Well, there’s this village nearby my hometown, which is called Ninotsminda and there is a church for St. Nino there, which is really beautiful , however, it’s ruined and destroyed by enemies centuries ago and nowadays, there has been some renovation, though some places are still in ruins and there are such fascinating frescos there, that you won’t want to stop looking at it.

You know, when we were at school, we always wondered, why Ninooba was not a holiday, I mean, the day, when you don’t have school, however, we always had lessons on that day and after the lessons, we used to go to Ninotsminda and get to the church and buy some candles and light them in the church and everything. There were always so many people there going to the church, that sometimes, you couldn’t even park your car there. You know, people went there with their families and relatives and stuff like that and they mostly went there by their cars and after that they probably went to someone’s house among them and have a little celebration of this holiday. Though on that day it usually was pretty cold and it was very interesting, that on that day it was a windy day in Ninotsminda every year.

Well, you know how children are and we were children, too, and we just wanted not to have school and go to Ninotsminda togetherand have some kind of a pleasant day with going to church and lighting candles and everything.

There were these things sold outside the church, which they call “Mamalo” and it’s a candy or something like candy, that has chicken shape or chicken head shape and it’s sugary water caramelized or something like that. To be honest, I never liked those Mamalos, however, other children just love them and one of my cousins love them so much, that when he wants Mamalo, you should definitely prepare some Mamalos for him, otherwise he will start crying and won’t stop until you prepare Mamalos for him. You know, I didn’t really think, but they sell these Mamalos in Nikora supermarket, too, if you want to know the truth. Well, I didn’t know anything about it until I saw them there the other day, I mean, I was standing in line near the cashier and there are some sweet stuff and chewing gums put on those shelves, you know, so that if you want something until you leave you can take them and buy them and stuff like that, of course, so that I was looking around until my turn came there and I just suddenly saw these Mamalos wrapped in transparent wrapping and they looked pretty cool, if you want to know the truth. They were yellowish transparent in colour and they just looked like those chickens, you know. And if someone loves eating those Mamalos very much, they can just go to Nikora supermarket and buy them, though I don’t really know whether they can be in every Nikora supermarket or not, because the one that I visited and saw those Mamalos there was the one nearby Varketili metro station and I haven’t seen them somewhere else so far, or maybe they also have them some other places and in other branches of Nikora supermarket, however, I guess, I haven’t really paid much attention to them there.

Anyways, people usually go to Ninotsminda Monastery Complex at night and they attend the services there while the day comes and they kind of meet Ninooba there and it’s pretty much crowded in the room, where the services are brought, however, it’s still cold outside on that day, because it’s January 27-th and it’s winterand it’s freezing most of the times in Georgia at that time, so that many people don’t go and stay up all night there in the church because of that, however, they go there during the day and light the candles and pray and everything.

The Monastery Complex is a very beautiful one itself,and I always stay amazed when visiting it. Though some parts of it is still ruined, they reconstructed some of those churches and there are usually services brought there and they function just normally, however, I haven’t been there this year and I don’t know the situation there now, I guess, they would reconstruct some other things there, too, and I hope, that it’s in better condition than when I last saw it. Well, to tell you the truth, I really want it to be all reconstructed and stuff, because when it’s like that, the rain and snow and the sun and everything gets to it and slowly it is being destroyed by all those things.

About the Monastery Complex

So there has been a church in that place from the 6-th century and since then it got other buildings, too step by step. What’s more, there was a church built there when St. Nino was in Georgia and that’s why it’s a very significant place for Georgians, because St. Nino is very much appreciated and loved and respected throughout the whole country.

The church there was ruined during many invasions of other people and it has been reconstructed again and again, for example, in the 11-12-th centuries and in the 16-th century. However, there were some earthquakes in 1824 and 1848 years and it got pretty much destroyed.

The monastery complex has is surrounded by a fortification, which was built in the 16-17-th centuries and the entrance gate has towers, which you can see if you visit it.

There’s also this brick belltower in the monastery, which was built during the reign of King Levan of Kakheti in the 16-th century and it’s a three-storey building with fireplaces and there were the monks residing as it’s known.

Well, as this monastery complex has a long history, it’s not that good seeing it ruined like that, I mean, I don’t know what others think, but when I visit it and see it in ruins, I want to reconstruct it myself, however, I’m not qualified for that , of course, and I hope, that they will do something _ those who are, because it can’t be like that forever, you know. It’s just not right. You can’t really wait for it to get all destroyed until you decide to store itsomehow and reconstruct it. It doesn’t really have any purpose of reconstructing something, when it’s all ruined already, because then there won’t be anything left to reconstruct and that’s always sad, I mean, you should think about something until you lose it and not after losing it, if you want to know the truth.

Celebrating Ninooba

To be honest, there haven’t been much gatherings on Ninooba in our families and stuff like that, however, we were gathered many times on this day to celebrate it and have some conversations with each other and meet our relatives and stuff like that, you know. It’s a great opportunity when a day like this happens, because that is the day, when people gather around and you see your long not seen relatives and cousins and aunts and uncles and everyone, you know, and usually everyone tries to be present on those days, when we are gathering, because everyone wants to see everyone and that’s what I like about it, if you want to know the truth. We are there all together socializing with each other and getting to know each other better and ask each other about some news in each other’s lives and stuff like that. There are usually many people around, because our family is pretty large and we just like to be together on such days.

You know, it’s winter on Ninooba, it’s January and that means, that it might be snowing outside on that day and, well, I must tell you, that usually it doesn’t snow on this day and it’s really windy in Ninotsminda that day, however, when it’s snow, it means, that this day will be just great, because then it all gets very different. People like snow because they get this feeling of preparing mtsvadi outside and they light some fire with woods and stuff like that and then they have this pork cut into pieces and get them on the sticks and they prepare mtsvadi and it’s a strange feeling, when you are outside in the snow and there’s this fire lit in front of you and you get warm in front of it while still freezing and you see that pork getting fried and stuff like that and meanwhile you are talking about some things to other people and it’s like a great day with some great experiences.

So, on this day in Ninotsminda there is usually some wind and there used to be some great windy hours there, when I was there and before that, too, and my father usually remembers all of them and he would tell this story of one of the Ninoobas, when there were many our relatives in our house celebrating this holiday, when they asked now where  was St. Nino and suddenly the wind opened the door in the yard and then the door of the house, so that it was something unexpected and everyone was left surprised, you know. They say, it was a pretty strange feeling and no one expected that wind would blow and open that heavy door in the yard. Well, I couldn’t really tell you the story in exact words, and, besides, I was not there, of course, and I don’t really know how it all happened, and I just know things about it as my father says and he tells that story very details and everything and I can’t really tell it in those details, if you want to know the truth. However, I tried to tell you it in some ways.

Well, as I’ve already mentioned, this is a day, when people gather together and go to churches and light the candles and pray and ask St. Nino for the health and well-being of their closed ones and it has this significant meaning for everyone in Georgia, if you want to know the truth, and people then celebrate the day with their families and relatives and close friends. I am a fortunate one, because I live just nearby this St. Nino monastery complex and I have that opportunity to go there every year on this holiday and visit the church there. It’s a really important day and you should know about this holiday,if you are visiting Georgia and if you are visiting it in January, especially, because people will be celebrating it and getting to churches and everything, and you shouldn’t be surprised and you should know, that this is the day of remembering St. Nino.

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