Christmas is over and we are still living it - suspended in a vacuum that is an unwillingness to break away from the recent bliss. We fall asleep quicker, wake up slower, look at the world with buttery eyes, wish we could still linger in the vapours of Christmas palate delight, still indulge in sweet indulgence. We would like to continue to feel the warmth of the family hearth, to linger in the joyful time, to enjoy the way the hours flow slowly instead of flying through our fingers...
Yes, when the taste of Christmas lingers on our tongue and its atmosphere still smoulders in our souls, it is hard to resist memories, hard to return to a world full of everyday bustle, nothing like the bustle at the Easter table.
Even if we are not gourmets, the delicacies we have experienced - the babka, the pascha, the lamb, the stuffed eggs, the white borscht, the Easter pâté - are still with us, and now we have to wash the tablecloth, stained by the bustle of the family gathering, hide the Easter baskets and palms, put them away to sleep in the wardrobe for a year, and promise ourselves that the next Dyngus will be less of a surprise, even though we will probably still be soaked to the skin..
A cold shower - that's the best way to describe the post-Christmas return to everyday life, far removed from Easter's piles, thick with responsibilities, often full of problems, where we are most short of sleep and breath.
