New Year’s has always been the most important holiday to me. Growing up in Podolsk, in the Moscow region of Russia, it was our main family celebration—much like Christmas in the United States. We spent the day cooking together, gathered in the evening for a festive meal, and opened gifts under the holiday tree.

After moving to the United States as a teenager and eventually becoming a citizen, it became important to me to preserve these traditions. My husband is a third-generation American, we have a three-year-old son, and my parents now live with us, much as my grandparents once did in Russia. Although many of my Russian ornaments were left behind, we continue the tradition by placing a Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), the Slavic equivalent of Santa Claus, on our tree each year.

– MB

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