The end of Thanksgiving marks a glorious time of the year: the countdown to Christmas. Every store puts up their Christmas decorations and starts offering Christmas deals on Christmas-themed items. Every person around you can only talk about their Christmas plans -- what they want to get, what they're getting their family and friends, what they're cooking, who's coming over, what their traditions are, and on and on and on. When they finally stop for a breath and ask me what my Christmas plans are they don't often expect my answer. I tend to shrug and say, "Well actually my family doesn't celebrate Christmas."

I feel like I should explain a little about my holiday traditions. My family is Russian and non-religious. Following the Russian orthodox religion, though, Christmas would be celebrated on January 7th. However, my family is not religious and neither is our almost entirely Russian circle of friends. So Christmas isn't really a big deal to us. We do go all out for New Year's Eve, though. That's when I get all my presents, that's why we decorate a "New Years" tree, that's when Grandfather Frost or Ded Moroz (Russian Santa) comes to visit all the good girls and boys. New Years in Russian culture is more than just a night to get drunk on champagne with your friends, it's our non-religious Christmas. So that's just a little background about that.

Now, what is it like living in a culture where Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year for a majority of people? Well, I have had to get used to December as a month of weird looks, constant questions, and even some judgments. It's also been quite a blessing. Coworkers eyes light up when I tell them I don't celebrate Christmas and then their expressions change to hopeful ones as they whisper in disbelief, "Could you cover my shift?" To me, working on Christmas is like working on any other day, except I get paid double. However, to my coworkers, it means that they can see their family for one of the most important nights of their year. Chinese restaurants and movie theaters have no lines on Christmas. I can buy gifts for so much cheaper after Christmas to give my family and friends on New Years. Grandfather Frost is way cooler than Santa (sorry but it's true). The list goes on and on.

Not celebrating Christmas in a Christmas dominant country is a little weird. I've definitely had to learn to adjust. I still have trouble explaining to friends why New Years is such a big deal to me. Or why we decorate a tree even though we don't celebrate Christmas. Or why I really do mean it when I say I'm not doing anything for Christmas. The looks, the questions, the confusion, all of it I'm used to. And yeah, sometimes when I see cute Christmas cards or pictures of matching Christmas sweaters I wish I celebrated Christmas. But when New Years rolls around I realize how lucky I am. My family would throw incredible New Years parties when I was growing up, and somehow I didn't miss Christmas too much when New Years was so much fun.

So as November ends and everything becomes red and green, Santas are on every corner, wreaths on every door, lights on every tree, boxes of candy canes line every other shelf, I go about my life like I do any other day and mentally begin the countdown to December 31st.

As this craziness gets closer and closer: Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, and any other holiday you may or may not celebrate!