Page:Morgan Philips Price - Siberia (1912).djvu/92



VERY traveller before he has been long in the Russian Empire will become acquainted with prasniks or holidays. On a very large percentage of days in the year the Greek Church ordains that, because a tradition exists that some obscure saint, whose very existence may perhaps be open to question, performed a miracle or died on that day, the whole commercial and economic activities of the Empire are to be altogether suspended. These holidays are spent simply in eating nuts, doing nothing and getting drunk; and if, like my companions and myself, the travellers should be so unfortunate as to arrive at a Siberian frontier town after a week's journey in carts, and find the Easter prasniks just begun, he will experience no little inconvenience.

The first night we were in our new abode we thought it might not be out of place to get something to eat. Our servant and I went out into the town to try our luck. As usual, outside on the doorsteps of the houses sat groups of men and women, eating pine seed and doing nothing. "Where can we buy something to eat?" "Don't know," was the reply. "Are there no shops?" "All shut, holidays." "When will they be open?" "Don't know." 60