Patron Saint’s Day in Moldova

From Lenin’s Asylum: Two Years in Moldova, by A. A. Weiss (Everytime Press, 2018), Kindle pp. 193-195: Riscani’s town birthday, a day festival called hram, fell on a Tuesday. Only a handful of students had come to school; none of the kids higher than sixth grade or any of the village classes showed up that day. I was thankful that my older kids had taken the day off. They would have certainly arrived to class intoxicated. Instead, they wandered the streets with cans of beer, toasting anyone they recognized. My fifth grade girls asked if I’d be celebrating in the town center. I assured them I wouldn’t be drunk. “Why not?” asked Olia. “It is hram.” “Do you realize that drinking so much can damage your health?” “You are not little,” the class explained. “You can drink without problems.” After school, I called my friends. I wouldn’t be going out into the hram without backup. Michael was in the capital, so he couldn’t help. With such short notice, Colin was the only one who could make it…