Birthdays in Georgia

by Elena, Georgia

I remember the time of my childhood after War II when life was very difficult. I was 10 years old and my sister was 9. Almost nobody remembered one's birthday and no one celebrated. But I had an aunt (my father's sister) who was a pastry cook. My aunt's name is Nazik-Mamida. Mamida is my father's sister in Georgian.

Sometimes Nazik-Mamida came to stay and spend the night with us. She was about 45 years old. She was not what one would call beautiful, but she was simple and had a nice face. She was always beautiful to me and my sister. Nazik-Mamida was a widow and had a married daughter. She simply loved all of our family. She never forgot my birthday. She brought big delicious cakes.

The cake's name is “Feir Tale” and was decorated with chocolate roses from chocolate creams. Sponge cake was saturated in syrup. Candles were not put on top of the cake because money was always little. We were happy even without candles. The time was so difficult.

On the table there was only the cake “Feir Tale” and there sat a big samovar where there was boiling water. We drank tea and ate our delicious cake. My girlfriend knew about it and always came with her youngest sister. We waited with joy for my aunt. They were the happiest days that I remember.

Later there were birthdays with rich spreads on the table, but they were not as happy as in those days.

To listen to this story read by Elena, click here.

Elena, age 22