Tits have come back!

Nice holiday, right? A few years ago it was established on the initiative of the Russian Bird Conservation Union. Although the holiday has been observed for not so many years, its roots come from the distant past since there is a day of Zinovy Sinichnik (“sinitsa” is the Russian for tit) in the national calendar. According to the old believes, on this day tits and other birds, anticipating winter, fly from the woods closer to human dwellings in search of aid and food.

Personally I have always associated tits with winters of my childhood that I spent at my grandparents’ place. My grandfather made a feeder and adjusted it on a windowsill from the outside so that I could watch the birds. My grandmother would put a piece of pork fat there especially for tits. Thus, these birds quickly became the main characters in my drawings and first school essays. I remember very well those winter mornings and the view from our window, which inspired my first children’s stories. It was the time of the first frosts and the trees in front of our window were beautifully decorated with crystal ice fringe, and a couple of tits were curiously looking at our window waiting for their breakfast.

One could argue about copying Russian and Soviet holidays, but his holiday truly brings the feeling of some genuine warmth, doesn’t it?