It has been a loooonnggg time since I asked you all a question for my book!

I have a question about a scene that I am fairly certain will develop at some point within my book and as I have been thinking about it for a few weeks now, I figured I should ask now before I forget about it.

For those of you who don’t know (as it has been a long time), I had started writing a book about a year ago at the request of my daughter. I haven’t done very much with it in months, yet I hope to get back to it soon. Dmitri is the main male character and I believe from everything I have learned from this forum, he would have been born in Russia and left Russia as a child. So he knows Russian, has Russian memories, a nice Russian accent when speaking Russian and not the strong Russian accent when speaking English. And… thanks to all those who helped me to confirm that he CAN indeed have his gray eyes as my daughter requested!

Back to my question…

The holiday season in Russia. Particularly the Christmas, Hanukah, New Year season.

Here in the States it is very commercialized and I personally abhor the entire thing. What once started out as the shopping or get in the mood spirit traditionally started AFTER our Thanksgiving Holiday (the fourth Thursday in November). This year, BEFORE Halloween there were Christmas displays up in the stores. There are already the Salvation Army bell ringers out asking for donations.

So, besides the traditional movies which are watched and we have discussed… what is this season like in Russia these days?

How commercial is it now?

Do people in general celebrate the “season” even if it is not their faith?

When does the "season" start?

Are buildings and stores all decorated with lights and such?

If I were to include a section about Dmitri remembering this as a child, what would stand out? What would be a “must have?”

I recall hearing something last year, that people are given a number of days off from work and things pretty much shut down. This is an “odd” concept to me. How can businesses be “forced” to close for more than one day? Who pays the employees for all this time off? What if you want to buy something or need a service?

I remember when I was a kid we had “Blue Laws” and many stores were closed on Sunday or had limited hours and limits on when you could buy alcoholic beverages. And they still limit when you can but a car of all things! Otherwise, most of the Blue Laws are gone.

What else should I know that I have not asked?