Sheina Burdeynaya at the age of 6

This is me at the age of 6. The photo was made in Rybnitsa in 1928. I was born on 24 December 1922 when a 2nd candle was lit at Chanukkah. My father named me after his mother. Sheina means 'beautiful' in Yiddish. When I was small I liked mayses [fairy tales in Yiddish]. My mother told me about Joseph and Moses and other stories from the Bible. Our family celebrated all Jewish holidays. I remember some of them. Pesach was the most important holiday. We had special fancy dishes that were kept on the attic. I had a red glass gleyzele ['little glass' in Yiddish] with a handle. I got a drop of special wine at Pesach. I remember my grandfather Shmerl gathering chametz before Pesach. Before the holidays he used to put bread and crumbs leftovers on all windowsills to remove them with a goose feather. When this was done chametz was burnt and the house was cleaned up and the sofas were covered with white cloth. Then fancy dishes were brought in and the table was laid for a fancy meal. We had traditional food: Gefilte fish, chicken broth with matzah, a decanter of special wine and red-sided Moldavian apples. My grandfather conducted seder sitting in an armchair. I remember asking fir kashes ['the 4 questions' in Yiddish It refers to the 4 questions asked during the seder]. I also remember a song about a sheep and a stick sung at Pesach [the interviewee refers to the song of Hadgadjo, which is at the end of the seder dinner]. I also remember Purim. I had a rattle. My grandfather Shmerl took me to the synagogue. My mother made hamantashen and flodn - nut waffles with honey. They were also triangle in shape. Shavuot was celebrated on the 50th day after Pesach at the end of spring - beginning of summer. We had dairy food: rice boiled in milk, pies and green borsch. At Yom Kippur we used to roll chicken over our heads - kapores shlogn. Kapores means sacrifice and shlogn means'beat' in Yiddish. At night a shochet and his assistant came to slaughter these chickens. They came with a flashlight. Our relatives got together to watch this process. Remember my grandfather making sukkah at Sukkot. We had many trees in the yard and he gathered rods for the sukkah. There was a lamp in the sukkah. But I don't remember that I set there. I also remember Simchat Torah. I went to the synagogue with my grandfather. I remember children carrying red flags and apples. My parents told me about all traditions and holidays in detail. I remember merry celebrations until early 1930s, but in the late 1930s they were not so festive as before. After my grandfather Shmerl died I don't remember any such ceremonious celebrations any more.