“Where are you going to celebrate New Year’s Eve?” is a common question you may hear from a Ukrainian friend or colleague any time starting in December. It’s considered really “uncool” to have nothing planned, so even if you haven’t got anything special lined up, say that you do.

After all, most Ukrainians will have about two weeks to be lazy – from Dec. 31 till the end of Christmas holidays – Jan. 9. Many have already arranged trips to Karpaty and other ski resorts, but if you don’t plan to leave town, you have several options – book a table at one of city’s restaurants or clubs, get invited to a house party or host your own.

When it comes to New Year’s celebrations, the traditions have changed little since Soviet times – only the variety of food and drinks on the table have increased a lot. Unlike 20 years ago, you don’t need to have special connections with the store manager to buy caviar or salami. Now you can find almost anything as long as you have money to pay for it.

The holiday must involve two necessary elements: a feast and watching of festive TV programs, which always come in abundance. The rest, such as dancing, party games and gambling is optional. To ad an infantile element to your party, invite a special guest – Did Moroz (Grandpa Frost). While Moroz is best described as a local version of Santa, the two old men have many differences. Both of them wear long white beards and bring presents to kids, but Did Moroz is a fable character with no relation to religion, usually wearing a long shimmering blue coat instead of short red-and-white one and no spectacles. He is also unmarried (apparently a widower), living with granddaughter Sniguronka (Snow Maiden) who assists him in the task of delivering gifts. Oh, and, of course, he doesn’t enter the houses through the chimney, since most kids in the former Soviet Union live in many-storied apartment houses.

You will find plenty of ads offering Did Moroz’s services on the Internet and in newspapers. For a certain fee he will come to your home to entertain kids and grownups. But keep in mind that Did Moroz considers it bad manners to reject a drink offered by hosts – they always do – so by the time he gets to your place, he might be rather tipsy.Speaking of the festive meal, you must approach it quite seriously. The party table must carry as many different dishes as possible. To get all the products you want and save time and extra stress, don’t plan on grocery shopping on Dec. 31 – the queues at the supermarkets would be enormous. Make sure to buy Sovetskoye Shampanskoye (Soviet Champagne) – it’s the one drink you cannot do without on New Year’s. And don’t worry about buying enough stuff to last you a week. Supermarkets in Ukraine don’t close during holidays, so you can easily replenish your food and booze supplies even in the morning on the first day of 2009 – the Year of the Ox.