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Have a Jolly Commie Christmas

Alice is both a devout Internet searcher and a connisseur and collector of Christmas ornaments. Can you spell eBay?

Scouring the lesser known areas of humanity's yard sale, Alice found an entire subsection of undiscovered holiday treasures, ornaments from the old USSR for anti-Christmas trees.

This is not a joke. I saw them with my own eyes. Atheistic Communism abolished Christmas, but transferred many of its secular customs, gift-giving, getting plastered at parties, etc. to the thoroughly secular New Year's celebration. At some point in the Krushchev era, apparently its zenith in the late '50s and early '60s, the New Year's tree was permitted, and the ultimate in politically correct ornaments introduced.

There are little blimps with CCCP on the sides. There are little cosmonauts, a little glass Sputnik, and an adorable little Laika the first space dog. Best of all, there's a star for the top of tree. Superimposed on the star is a heroic hammer and sickle. Residents of the former Soviet Union have put these on eBay to mark their personal transition to a market economy.

So for the past month, our home has been receiving packages covered in Cyrillic lettering and covered with very odd postage stamps. They weren't cheap, but what price Laika the space dog?

My only worry is we're flying to Florida to see my folks on Dec. 26. I wonder how all those registered mail packages from abroad will effect our passage through Logan security?

On the other hand, we've finally found the perfect Christmas gift for Bill O'Reilly.

posted by Michael Gee @ 10:18 AM