Ah….winter holidays in Russia! Where to begin? Russians celebrate two Christmases, two New Years and the whole country is off for three weeks to make sure it’s done properly!
Although Catholic Christmas is not an official holiday, winter holiday celebrations in Russia start on December 24. After that, everyone gets a winter vacation starting from December 27 until January 14.
New Year is the biggest and the most popular holiday for the Russian people. As a native Russian, I always wait with anticipation for December to come around. On December 31, I put up a New Year tree, decorate my house and cook while watching old Russian movies and fairy tales. Later in the evening on New Year’s Eve my family and I gather around the table and enjoy a few snacks and drinks to properly “say good bye to the Old Year”. Five minutes before the midnight, everyone is glued to TV as the Russian President addresses the nation and wishes everyone a prosperous New Year. At midnight, we open a bottle of champagne, kiss and everyone secretly sneaks presents for the others under the New Year tree! Celebrations continue all night as we watch shows on TV, eat and drink champagne.
The next winter holiday in line is Russian Christmas –January 7. The celebration of this holiday in Russia is very low key, since it is a relatively new. Some stay home, some go out, but all try to eat a goose and sweet rice with walnuts and raisins!
Russians have a second opportunity to celebrate the New Year, which, according to the old Orthodox calendar falls on January 14. This “Old New Year” (Starui Novui God) is spent with family and is generally quieter than the New Year celebrated on January 1st. The tradition during the Old New Year celebrations is to write your wishes on a piece of paper, burn it, throw the ashes in the glass of champagne and drink it at midnight. It is very important not to tell anyone what you wished for to make sure it comes true!
Although Catholic Christmas is not an official holiday, winter holiday celebrations in Russia start on December 24. After that, everyone gets a winter vacation starting from December 27 until January 14.
New Year is the biggest and the most popular holiday for the Russian people. As a native Russian, I always wait with anticipation for December to come around. On December 31, I put up a New Year tree, decorate my house and cook while watching old Russian movies and fairy tales. Later in the evening on New Year’s Eve my family and I gather around the table and enjoy a few snacks and drinks to properly “say good bye to the Old Year”. Five minutes before the midnight, everyone is glued to TV as the Russian President addresses the nation and wishes everyone a prosperous New Year. At midnight, we open a bottle of champagne, kiss and everyone secretly sneaks presents for the others under the New Year tree! Celebrations continue all night as we watch shows on TV, eat and drink champagne.
The next winter holiday in line is Russian Christmas –January 7. The celebration of this holiday in Russia is very low key, since it is a relatively new. Some stay home, some go out, but all try to eat a goose and sweet rice with walnuts and raisins!
Russians have a second opportunity to celebrate the New Year, which, according to the old Orthodox calendar falls on January 14. This “Old New Year” (Starui Novui God) is spent with family and is generally quieter than the New Year celebrated on January 1st. The tradition during the Old New Year celebrations is to write your wishes on a piece of paper, burn it, throw the ashes in the glass of champagne and drink it at midnight. It is very important not to tell anyone what you wished for to make sure it comes true!
4 comments:
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Russia is a very beautiful tourist destination for travellers and tourists, great post thank you for sharing.
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Am sure thsi blog post will be popular in 2012. Excellent post!
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