Acting US Ambassador to Georgia Sings in Guria

Elisabeth Rood, Acting US Ambassador to Georgia, sang a Georgian folk song in Guria region on Kalandoba, the celebration of New Year in the Orthodox calendar.

During her visit to Guria region, she performed “Mival Guriashi, Mara…” (I am going to Guria, but …) together with Anzor Erkomaishvili, singer and head of Rustavi Ensemble, and locals. The video was released on social media.

In Georgia, New Year is celebrated twice: traditional New Year on January 1 and Old New Year on January 14, according to the Julian calendar. Old New Year is celebrated almost in the same way as the original one, but not with as big festivity or preparation. Old New Year is especially popular in Guria, the western part of Georgia. Here, this celebration is called Kalanda and is even more important than the traditional New Year marked on January 1. 

Watch the video here 

By Ana Dumbadze