{"id":13865,"date":"2025-12-08T21:33:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T19:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=13865"},"modified":"2025-12-22T11:11:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T09:11:33","slug":"christmas-past-roundup-of-xmas-and-new-year-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/christmas-past-roundup-of-xmas-and-new-year-posts\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas past: roundup of Xmas and New Year posts"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

A glance over my Christmas shoulder <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

8 December 2025 – Christmas past: roundup of Xmas and New Year posts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling back the years<\/strong> to revisit comments and observations on Christmases past, looking back particularly on those coronavirus specials, no matter how grim we may feel about the world today and the game of blind man\u2019s bluff it keeps on playing, as trust in the future wanes, almost universally, it\u2019s enough to make you sing, \u201cThese are the good old days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49 Celebrating New Year in Russia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas past: a roundup of Xmas and New Year posts<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"Zelenogradsk<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Zelenogradsk Christmas Decorations Win First Prize<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 10 January 2023<\/em>
As the Baltic resorts of the Kaliningrad region prove ever more popular with each passing year, why not do something outrageously unconventional and visit the same in the winter months? I am not suggesting you strip off and get down on the beach, although there are some that will and do, but at least with a hat and scarf on, you can enjoy what in England would be described euphemistically as the \u2018bracing winter weather\u2019. A time of unparalleled excellence to pay a visit to Zelenogradsk is in the lead-up to, or just after, the New Year celebrations. At this time of the year, the seaside town is inhabited with more festive decorations than crowds of people in the summer months, and the visual beauty bestowed by these imaginative seasonal displays and the concomitant atmosphere they kindle add an extra sparkle of magic to an already magical destination. Here\u2019s a runback to Zelenogradsk 2023 in all its Christmas and New Year glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Christmas<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Christmas in Gdansk<\/strong><\/a>
Updated: 11 February 2022 | First published: 5 October 2019 <\/em>
This post, which was first published in October 2019, was, even then, retrospective, as it relates to my inaugural trip to Kaliningrad, Russia, in the winter of 2000. We entered Russia via Gdansk and spent Christmas and Boxing Day in Poland. This was Poland pre-EU. Gdansk was a rather different place than it is today.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Christmas in the Land of Vax<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 3 January 2022<\/em>
It\u2019s Christmas 2021. The world has experienced two years of what by now has become a suspicious and widely discredited lunacy. In the UK, the socio-political and cultural landscape is ravaged, splintered by misinformation and disinformation (no change there then!), a situation exacerbated by poor executive management, media hype, dissimulation and social media-spread confusion. The country is split, yet again, into two opposing camps, broadly demarcated along an ideological faultline, with pro-vaxing liberals one side and anti-vaxing patriots on the other. Don\u2019t read this post without your mask. Baaaaa \u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Persuading<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49How to deal with a vaccinated liberal family member at Christmas<\/strong><\/a>
Published 23 December 2021<\/em>
Coronavirus. The UK media and the dictatorial liberal left have never had it so good. Among other intelligence-bending articles, a self-help guide emerges for liberals presumably agonising over how to react politely, although I’ve never met a polite liberal yet, to recalcitrant, heretic family members who refuse to kowtow obsequiously to vax-or-else hysteria. This post is my flip side to that deliriously daft dilemma.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Don\u2019t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Don\u2019t let that man spoil your vaccinated Christmas!<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 22 December 2021<\/em>
As you can see, to vax, not to vax or to be dragged kicking and screaming by men in white coats and forced to vax were popular topics in their UK day (December 2021). The British government and the British media were yet to exploit Ukraine. Masking and vaxing had become the testing ground for a new hysteria yet to be deployed. It was the country\u2019s political hot potato, destined to be dropped, however, suddenly and cynically, as soon as Ukraine hit the headlines. Immediately, Britons were urged, both to a man and a transvestite, to forget about their masks and change their social media avatars to the colours of their government\u2019s underpants. Or have I got that wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Zelenogradsk<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Zelenogradsk! Lit up like a Christmas tree<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 24 December 2020<\/em>
Removing my mythical mask and the anti-vaxing section of metal drainpipe I\u2019d fitted over my upper arm, here I take a break from worrying about not worrying about the coronavirus scare, at least not worrying as much as I\u2019m told I ought, and return to the simple, traditional pleasures of Zelenogradsk at Christmas time: its streets bedecked with decorations and also its bars as well.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Coronavirus & The Ghosts of Christmas Past<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 23 December 2020<\/em>
There\u2019s nothing like a national\/international crisis, especially at Christmas, to bring out the nostalgia in us. Here\u2019s me, in the midst of coronavirus, harking back to simpler, happier times. The pandemic may now have gone \u2013 for the moment \u2013 but unless you were born too late and have therefore been placed on a diet of whatever it is they choose to feed you, it is unmistakably evident that Simpler and Happier packed their bags ahead of coronavirus and took refuge in the hinterlands of a perceived less treacherous yesterday, leaving behind a growing conviction that the UK state can no longer be trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Olga<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Will Boris\u2019 Bubble be Pricked this Christmas?<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 5 December 2020<\/em>
What was all this about? Something to do with pricks? When you\u2019ve unravelled it, you tell me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Important
Beautiful Russian Christmas Cards from Kaliningrad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc49Important to Keep in Touch During Coronavirus Christmas<\/strong><\/a>
Published: 17 November 2020<\/em>
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse\u2019 \u2013 as cheesy as it sounds, they’d all been trapped by lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Merry<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2018-2025 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image attribution<\/strong>
{Feature image} Kerstnacht (1894) by Theo van Hoytema<\/strong><\/a>. https:\/\/www.rawpixel.com\/image\/2734100\/free-illustration-image-christmas-vintage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.rawpixel.com\/image\/2734100\/free-illustration-image-christmas-vintage<\/a>
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year: https:\/\/www.publicdomainpictures.net\/en\/view-image.php?image=307586&picture=merry-christmas-happy-new-year<\/a>
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A glance over my Christmas shoulder 8 December 2025 – Christmas past: roundup of Xmas and New Year posts Rolling back the years to revisit comments and observations on Christmases past, looking back particularly on those coronavirus specials, no matter how grim we may feel about the world today and the game of blind man\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2484],"tags":[2684,2679,1742,2677,1303,2683,2680,2685,2678,2681,2682,2070],"class_list":["post-13865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary","category-mick-harts-diary-2025","tag-boris-bubble","tag-christmas-in-gdansk","tag-christmas-in-the-land-of-vax","tag-christmas-past","tag-coronavirus-christmas","tag-coronavirus-ghosts","tag-liberal-family-member-christmas","tag-mick-hart-happy-new-year","tag-roundup-of-xmas-and-new-year-posts","tag-vaccinated-christmas","tag-zelenogradsk-all-lit-up","tag-zelenogradsk-christmas-decorations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/rz-Kerstnacht-min.jpg?fit=900%2C1433&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2790,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/zelenogradsk-lit-up-like-a-christmas-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":13865,"position":0},"title":"Zelenogradsk! Lit up like a Christmas tree","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"24 \u0434\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A festive day in Zelenogradsk Published: 24 December 2020 Travelling for the first time from a small railway station tucked away in Kaliningrad, my wife, Olga, and I recently visited the coastal resort Zelenogradsk. It was a wet, cold, overcast day, and it was also Monday, so we had the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad Region Photo Gallery"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad Region Photo Gallery","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad-region\/kaliningrad-region-photo-gallery\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Us-in-Love-Cafe.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Us-in-Love-Cafe.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Us-in-Love-Cafe.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Us-in-Love-Cafe.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8204,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/zelenogradsk-christmas-decorations-win-first-prize\/","url_meta":{"origin":13865,"position":1},"title":"Zelenogradsk Christmas Decorations Win First Prize","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"10 \u044f\u043d\u0432\u0430\u0440\u044f, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Zelenogradsk ~ streets ahead with imaginative decorations Published: 10 January 2023 ~ Zelenogradsk Christmas Decorations Win First Prize In the UK, the festive season is well and truly over. Unless you had a better time than most, the last remnants of the New Year\u2019s Eve hangover will have sailed way\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Kaliningrad Region Photo Gallery"","block_context":{"text":"Kaliningrad Region Photo Gallery","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad-region\/kaliningrad-region-photo-gallery\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Zelenogradsk Christmas Decorations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zelenogradsk-Xmas-Decorations-Signpost-feature-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zelenogradsk-Xmas-Decorations-Signpost-feature-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zelenogradsk-Xmas-Decorations-Signpost-feature-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Zelenogradsk-Xmas-Decorations-Signpost-feature-min.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8129,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/kaliningrad-retro-car-club-in-a-festive-mood\/","url_meta":{"origin":13865,"position":2},"title":"Kaliningrad Retro Car Club in a Festive Mood","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"25 \u0434\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In the club on Christmas Eve Published: 25 December 2022 ~ Kaliningrad Retro Car Club in a Festive Mood A big thank you to Inara and Arthur for inviting me to the Kaliningrad Retro Car Club end-of-year party last night and to the members of the club for making me\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2022"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2022","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2022\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaliningrad Retro Car Club group photo Christmas Eve 2022","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Group-Photo-Kaliningrad-Retro-Car-Club-Party-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Group-Photo-Kaliningrad-Retro-Car-Club-Party-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Group-Photo-Kaliningrad-Retro-Car-Club-Party-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Group-Photo-Kaliningrad-Retro-Car-Club-Party-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Group-Photo-Kaliningrad-Retro-Car-Club-Party-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/christmas-in-gdansk\/","url_meta":{"origin":13865,"position":3},"title":"Christmas in Gdansk","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"11 \u0444\u0435\u0432\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044f, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Christmas in Gdansk Updated: 11 February 2022 | First published: 5 October 2019 ~ Christmas in Gdansk Christmas in Gdansk\u00a0is the fourth article in a series of posts that recount my first visit to Kaliningrad in 2000, and my first impressions of the land, the people and its culture. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2000"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2000","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2000\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Christmas in Gdansk Mick Hart & Joss Hart","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mick-Hart-Joss-Hart-in-Gdansk-2000.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mick-Hart-Joss-Hart-in-Gdansk-2000.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mick-Hart-Joss-Hart-in-Gdansk-2000.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mick-Hart-Joss-Hart-in-Gdansk-2000.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mick-Hart-Joss-Hart-in-Gdansk-2000.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1927,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/englishman-chilling-in-zelenogradsk-with-bear-beer\/","url_meta":{"origin":13865,"position":4},"title":"Englishman Chilling in Zelenogradsk with Bear & Beer","author":"Captain Codpiece","date":"8 \u0430\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442\u0430, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Diary of a Self-isolator: Day 141 [2 August 2020] Published: 8 August 2020 'You ought to get out more!' Since the birth of coronavirus, the intentional irony in this off-hand remark has taken on a whole new irrational meaning. We know that we want to get out more, but we\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0412 "Diary 2019\/2020"","block_context":{"text":"Diary 2019\/2020","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/category\/kaliningrad-mick-harts-diary\/diary-2019-2020\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Englishman Chilling in Zelenogradsk with Bear & Beer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/With-a-bear.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/With-a-bear.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/expatkaliningrad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/With-a-bear.jpg?fit=555%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13838,"url":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/new-year-in-russia\/","url_meta":{"origin":13865,"position":5},"title":"Celebrating New Year in Russia: Different but Familiar","author":"Mick","date":"4 \u0434\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0431\u0440\u044f, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Once you understand Ded Moroz (\u0414\u0435\u0434 \u041c\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0437) and yolka (\u0435\u043b\u043a\u0430), you're halfway there 4 December 2025 - Celebrating New Year in Russia: Different but Familiar They do things slightly differently in Russia at Christmas, or rather, they do things the same but at different times and with different names. 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