I seem to recall that Radio 3 used to broadcast a Russian Orthodox midnight service some years back.

Trouble with pheasant, you get a mouthful of shot and spend Christmas Day in Emergency Dental Clinic

GOSH!!!
How did George manage to edit a post at a time that hasn't happened yet?

Or could it be that it's quite considerably later than I realised?

I am a vegetarian - we have lovely food, I've some really wonderful festive recipes.
But sometimes when we are cat-sitting we buy Pheasant cat-food. I kid you not, you can get Pheasant Cat Food at Waitrose in Holloway Road.

Ye gods, operacat! I was in that very same emporium this morning. If only I`d known! I think I may not share this information with the moggies ...

Oh you don't want to go there, Mort/opuss! At least two composers (shhhh) have been known to frequent that emporium, and I believe were once seen engaging one another in conversation in the bread aisle (shock horror!!! ), even though one of them shares a name with the road and the other is better known for his socialist convictions ...

Had to fight back the tears as I read Baboushka to my class today. I'd forgotten what a sad story it is! It wasn't a sentimental text (thank goodness!) but I found it quite moving. [Makes mental note to always read the book to herself before reading it aloud...you'd think I'd have learned my lesson last year when a book about the body from the Schools Library Service had a farting bottom in it and I'd shown them the picture before I realised...] 

Are Russian children told that Baboushka has left them presents at Christmas?

When I lived in Sicily in Cefalù near a hill called La Rocca, I learned that the local children were told that their Christmas presents were left for them by an old woman who lived in La Rocca - rather a quaint local tale.

I can't claim chapter and verse on this one, not having any Russian children, but AFAIK Russian children have their toys left for them by a duo;  Ded' Moroz ("Gran'pa Frost"), and his mini-skirtted assistant Snegurochka ("Snow Maiden").  Although roughly corresponding to "Santa Claus", Ded' Moroz and his cute companion live at Veliky Ustiug, a village which does actually exist, and is located in the Vologda Region.  They fly through the sky by themselves, without needing any reindeer (although in the Vologda Region they'd certainly not be short of reindeer if they wanted any).

Ded' Moroz's exotic get-up - a long gown adorned with baubles and oddities - hints at his historic background... he's probably a shaman?  The northern shamen would come down out of the forests and into the towns at the year-end, to make a little pocket-money saying good-luck spells and incantations for the townsfolk.  This apparently happened not only in Russia, but in Sweden, Norway & Finland too.   Very probably they brought with them sacks of hand-carved toys which they'd made during the year, which were given to children... provided the parents coughed-up appropriately, of course...  so no change there, then  


I'm sure you're very polite to your hosts about the tv programs   But I agree entirely, they really are woeful entertainment   I generally try to contrive to be working over the holiday period somehow, as a way of avoiding them