Tsmindagiorgi 2016

The introduction

So today was a great day with all that stuff that happened.. It was a day when we go to Tsmindagiorgi and go to the church there and gather together and then have some fun and, well, we have a good time, we see each other, we meet each other and we are glad that we are together. This is one of the days during each year that I, personally, await for, because this is a day when I see lots of relatives and socialise with them and stuff like that. So, I was waiting got this day to come and finally it came and we were all set and ready to go to Tsmindagiorgi. To tell you the truth, this day isn't something that had an exact date, it's like a moving day, I mean, sometimes it's on 6-th of August, sometimes it's on 14-th of August and so on and so forth, but this day exists and everyone in our family knows about that and we gather together in this day and everyone just tries to be there on this day and not miss the chance of getting together with their relatives.

So this one day we were all in Giorgitsminda and they all decided to plan this day on the 6-th of August and so that it was said and had to be done. Everyone knew that information soon, because nowadays there are these things called cell phones and our grandfather just phoned everyone to let them know that this date was planned and invited them all to this significant day. Well, it was a week or less until the 6-th of August. It was Saturday and so that many people would be available, I guess and I expected to see many of them on Saturday in Tsmindagiorgi.So, it was a Saturday morning and me and my sister were waiting for my father to come home so that we could go to Sagarejo and then to Tsmindagiorgi. We were in Tbilisi, if you want to know the truth. Well , we were all packed and stuff, you know, we had all those things that we needed. To be honest, the people that day said that we would bring plastic plates and cups and things like that so that then we could just throw them away. I know, that there are some movements against them and I think, that they are right, I mean, there shouldn’t be those polyethylene things, because they don’t rot and our planet suffers from that and then we suffer from that, too, of course, however they are a good solution for things like this and the day before I went out to buy some plates and cups and forks and other stuff that we needed there in Tsmindagiorgi. I knew where I would buy those stuff exactly and so I went.

Now about the tradition. Well, the thing is that we take a chicken and the chicken is the main thing there. This day is not important without chicken. There should be at least one chicken so that we can say that this day is done. Last year was just hilarious, because there were so many chickens we didn't know where to take them. Almost everyone had a chicken brought the on Tsmindagiorgi and we would have them chopped, but there was not enough place or saucepans for them and so they were in a queue waiting to be cooked.

So, the chicken was to be cooked.

Buying plastic things

So, there are some places in Varketili where you can buy those plastic things. First of all, there’s this Bazaar and there you can find many different things for almost everything and so you can find plastic things there, too, but there are only few of them and, besides, there’s this store outside that I found about just recently, where they sell all those polyethylene things and it’s easier for anyone to buy some things when everything is just in one place and you don’t really have to go somewhere else for some other things and just wander like that, you know. So that that place outside the Bazaar is just great for some people like me who want to buy some plastic things. Well, I went there and looked around and decided which plastic things I needed and stuff like that. I took one pack of cups, they were 25 and cost something around 2 Laris, I guess. I took 10 plastic forks and not the white ones, but the transparent ones, as they are stronger than the white ones. I took 4 tableware, they were yellow with red dots on them and each cost 70 Tetris and they were about 100x120 cm long. And , well, I took some napkins and stuff like that and it was something about 8 Laris in all. However, I still needed some plates and they had those not very strong plates and I decided to look for another plates in Bazaar or in the store just above the Bazaar, where they have those kind of things and other stuff, too, and they offer a variety of things, in general, in  reasonable prices. So, I went there, too. There I saw some plastic plates, but they weren’t very different from what I saw in the shop next to Bazaar, however I still took a package of those plates and bought them. There were 1- pieces in package and they cost 90 Tetris. Well, I decided that those were not enough and I went to that shop next to Bazaar again and took one package of those plastic plates, where there were 50 of them and the package cost 2.5 Laris. So, I had everything necessary for the table to be set, so I went home and I was just looking forward to the next day. Well, actually, I wasn’t just sitting and waiting, I was preparing that cake that I have another blog about.

The day

This day is a chicken day and people just refer to it as “Mamloba”, which means the chicken day. However, it really sounds strange, I mean, this word Mamloba is like a word when you say it, it kind of sounds bad. It’s a great day, though, and as I’ve already mentioned, I look forward to this day for almost a year.

Well, after some waiting, my father came home and we took our baggage and got into the car and it was time to go . And we hit the road! It was just a half an hour drive from there to Sagarejo, so we were there in no time. Getting there in Sagarejo, we had some things to buy before going to Tsmindagiorgi. And those things were some meat, herbs and onions, melon, watermelon, bread and other stuff. We bought some nectarines and peaches, too and went home to pick up my mother and get some wine from our celery and a large saucepan for the meat.

Well, we arrived first ones there and it was kind of surprising, because usually we didn't arrive first ones in earlier years. It was really unusual, because I expected there to be someone before us. We couldn't really get to the place by our car as there were many stones there and the road was not that good for our car to go through that place all the way, so we had it stopped somewhere nearby and we had to take those things that we had with us all the way to the tables, but that was okay, of course, no one was whining about that. We had many things, though and I had to go to the tables and then come back and then go and come back to the car.

There's this table on the top of the road, where there is some water nearby and this place is really good. There is a table and benches and place to light a fire and stuff like that, so everything is there that anyone would need and the water is there, too. It just flows like that and it is really cold and drinking it gives you much pleasure. So, my sister went there as usual and placed some stuff that she had with her. There were some people nearby at other table, I didn't recognize them, however they were just three and they were probably waiting for other people to join them, too, as they were preparing some stuff over there and they had this large saucepan on the fire and , I guess, there was some meat in there and they were trying to decide whether this pepper was belll pepper or red pepper.

Anyways, we put our stuff on the table and when I looked around it was such a mess, that I wanted to kill those guys who did that. I mean, that is a public place, so that anyone can go there and have fun and have a picnic or whatever and so that no one controls that, but one should have a decency and not make such a mess, or if one makes such a mess, then he should tidy up some things until he leaves that place. I guess, you can not really imagine what that place looked like when we got there. I was really shocked, if you want to know the truth, and, I guess, you would be shocked, too, seeing those stuff on the ground and all those bottles cut into many pieces and all the other things there. Of course, we wouldn't be able to sit there or eat there or anything in general, so we had to clean up those stuff that were left there.. We took those bottles and all the other stuff that were left there and we took some of those fallen parts of those trees to light a fire and ge it ready for the meat and the chicken, I mean, we had saucepans and stuff and we would cook the meat and my grandfather would bring a chicken some time later and we would have it cooked, too. I had these yellow tableware, you know, and so that I put it on the table, but it was a little bit windy sometimes and it needed some things to be put on the table so that it would stick on it. My sister put everything that was nearby on the table and so that it helped pretty much. It was temporary, though, until we put some plates and glasses and other stuff there.

Well, it was already noon and we were waiting for the people to come. There were some things left in the car, too, so I went to bring them to the table. When I walked closer to our car, I heard other car's noise and I thought that would be my uncle and grandfather and I was right, there they were with their car. There were my two grandfathers and my uncle. He wanted to go into the woods, but the road was too tricky in one place and it would have been pretty bad for the car to go there, so they had to park the car nearby our car and walk all the way to the table. Well, of course, they had some things to carry with themselves, too, and I carried those things that were left in our car, so we went to the woods together with all those stuff.  My father had already prepared the fire and the meat was in the saucepan getting cooked. Now it was time for chicken. Until that, we just sat there at the table and talked a little.

Then we usually go up to the church and light some candles. It's a Saint Giorgi's church. It is not very large, it is just a simple building for the church and there are many icons in there. So, we usually go up there and light candles and that time we went up there, too, with our chicken. They say that you should take that chicken and go round the church three times with it, so we did that. There were some people up there, probably it was their first time there and they were taking videos and were talking to each other and some things and there was this little girl, she was surprised by the chicken and my grandfather showed  it to her and she said that she hadn't seen a chicken before.

So then we went down and I heard some voices there, it turned out it was our cousins and uncles and aunt.They were coming to church up there. And my third cousin, which is just 5 years old, was planning on going up there, too, and it was his first time going up there. Well, it was his second time there as he was there a year ago, too, but it was the first time he would go up there. And there were some bells outside the church and I knew that he would like that as we loved those bells when we were children. 

Well, they got up there and we just came down and went to the table. There was nearly everything ready, I mean, we had all these dishes that needed to be laid on table and that was it, so that we just took them out of those containers and bags and stuff like that and laid them on the table evenly. There were these tomatoes and cucumbers and they were not just bought in the supermarket, they were rather grown in my grandparents’ gardens and they were pretty delicious, if you want to know the truth. Well, they are always really delicious when they are home grown and stuff like that. If you have tasted anything that is home grown and then compared them to the supermarket bought ones, you will understand how it is! Everything that you do on your own is something different and everyone knows that, however, when everything’s going so fast and there’s no time in today’s world, everyone has to be quick and fast, too, to keep up the pace or the world and so that there’s no time for growing things in your garden or whatever or doing some things on your own. You know, back in that time when there was no electricity and cars and stuff like that, the life was going slowly and peacefully and everyone had time for everything, I guess. I mean, they were sitting and knitting and growing things in their gardens and having farms and stuff like that and they eat healthy, you know, and everything was so different, I can slightly imagine. However, now you can’t really be like that, I mean, if you are not in such a place where all those things are, you can’t really do those stuff, because you have other things to worry about and other stuff to do and don’t really have time enough for those things, too, if you ask me. So the day passes just so fast that you can’t think of something, I guess. You can’t get enough of anything if you don’t control your time and controlling it just becomes harder and harder, because there are lots of things to do in just a day and then there’s this transportation problem, because half of the day is lost in moving from one place to another, I guess.

Anyways, all the people were there in Tsmindagiorgi and there was no one to wait for, so that we just got everything ready for the day to start. Well, of course, the meat and the chicken were in those saucepans getting ready to be cooked and while they could cook, we would just sit there and eat some other stuff and talk and enjoy this day with each other. I hadn’t seen my cousins for a couple of days, I guess, but still, when  I last saw them it was not a long visit, so that it kind of didn’t count. So that now I could talk to them about anything and we had all day ahead of us and we could enjoy ourselves there in those woods with our relatives and a happy environment.

There were some people, I mean, our relatives and others, who couldn’t be present at this day. Well, first of all, it was my brother, who missed this day last year, too, because he was in Bulgaria and this year he was not in Tsmindagiorgi because of kind of the same reason _ he was also in Bulgaria this year, however now he was there as an intern in Pleven medical hospital and they were going to this hospital every morning from 8 a.m. till afternoon or something. So that they were pretty busy and they had excursions, too, of course, in other towns and places that were connected to medicine and history of Bulgaria and things like that. So, he was not there with us, however, we phoned him later that day and talked to him on loudspeaker and it was like he was there, too. 

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