Making Holidays

Last Monday was with March 8, a red-letter holiday inherited from our common past. Whatever our attitude might be, it still set the pace for several days before and after. Naturally, flower prices skyrocketed, but this time they rose not only thanks to the holiday but also the unending fantasy of the authorities: henceforth, flower vendors must pay a handsome sum for the right to deal in these fragrant goods, which they never did before. And although this day will outdo any other of the year’s 365 in terms of compliments to the fair sex, this time it had a persistent leitmotif, mostly from the ladies’ mouths: we’ve got a holiday at least once a year. Or (in our version): men give us a holiday at least once a year. This is, of course, also a gentle hint at those representatives of the stronger sex at the helm of the state.

The Kyiv oblast branch of the Writers’ Union supported, in connection with Taras Shevchenko’s 185th jubilee, a proposal to grant the Bard’s birthday the status of a public holiday to celebrate the national renaissance of Ukraine, and novelist Mykola Riaby addressed an open letter to the President. The coveted decree had not come out by the solemn date, but this does not rule out its signing in the immediate future. An intensive process of making holidays is underway, its peculiar logic being, how can there possibly be any problems in a country where every day is a holiday?

Statisticians have summed up the oblast’s industrial performance in February. Compared to January, industrial and service output rose by 5.5%. But, this is still only 84.3% of that of February 1998. Approximately the same correlation exists between the indices for 1998 and 1999.

The Kyiv City Court has resumed hearing the case of Dmytro Dvorkis accused of unlawfully holding two offices, Mayor of Vinnytsia and People’s Deputy of Ukraine. The defendant supplied a medical certificate testifying to his inability to turn up in court due to hypertension, and the session has been rescheduled for March 16. If Mr. Dvorkis does not recover, he may as well accept congratulations on March 29 on the first anniversary of this political bigamy.

Saturday offered another, so far lower-profiled, reason to make a holiday: Yuri Andrukhovych’s birthday. I could not forget to phone him early in the morning before I was engulfed by the daily routine, for there was no free time that day, either.

All of us at The Day join in congratulating our colleague and friend, Yuri Andrukhovych on his recent birthday. A wonderful human being and gifted writer, being associated with people of his caliber is an honor for us all. All we can say is, stay the way you are and keep up the good work!