A year in Georgia does not line up with the one you grew up with. Christmas lands in January, the New Year tree can be a shaved hazelnut branch, and an entire city throws itself a birthday party every autumn. If you are spending time here, the calendar is worth learning, because the holidays are when the country is most itself.
The winter stretch
The big one is New Year, on January 1, and it dwarfs everything around it. This is the secular, family, eat-for-three-days holiday, the Georgian equivalent of a Western Christmas. Tables groan, relatives circulate, and the chichilak’i (ჩიჩილაკი), a pale tree of curled hazelnut shavings, stands where a fir might. At the end of the holidays some families burn it, to send off the past year.
Then comes Orthodox Christmas on January 7, because the Georgian Church keeps the old calendar. It is the quieter, religious counterpart to New Year, and its signature is the alilo (ალილო), a procession of singers in costume winding through the streets. There is even a second, smaller New Year on January 14, the Old New Year, for anyone not ready to stop.
Spring and the moveable feast
Easter is the most important religious holiday of the year, and its date moves with the Orthodox calendar, usually a week or two after the Western one. Families dye eggs deep red, tap them against each other in a friendly duel, and visit the graves of relatives to share food. It is solemn and warm at the same time.
On May 26 the mood turns national for Independence Day, which marks the founding of the first Georgian republic in 1918. The capital fills with events, and it is a good day to feel the country’s pride up close.
The autumn festivals
If you can only catch one festival, make it Tbilisoba, the city’s own birthday, held over a weekend in late autumn. The old town turns into one long table of food stalls, wine, music, and craft sellers, and the whole place is in a good mood.
Just before it, on October 14, comes Svetitskhovloba in nearby Mtskheta, the ancient capital. It honors the famous cathedral there and draws pilgrims and visitors alike, an easy and rewarding trip from Tbilisi.
A word for the occasion
When a holiday rolls around, the thing to say is gilotsavt (გილოცავთ), roughly congratulations or happy holiday, the all-purpose Georgian greeting for any celebration. Say it at the right table and you will be handed a glass before you finish the word. If you would like more than one phrase ready by the next holiday, our first lesson is free.
