This is one of the most popular and looked-forward to holidays for Russians. People prepare for New Year in the same way as people in Europe prepare for Christmas – buying presents, decorating their houses and streets and cooking a special meal. The major ingredients of a Russian New Year are a fir tree, Father Frost (the Russian Santa) and his granddaughter, Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden.) It is customary in Russia for everyone to celebrate New Year together with public celebrations and fireworks. At this time there are also holidays – a whole ten days off throughout the country. So it’s worth making New Year’s Eve itself a celebration to remember. In St. Petersburg it’s becoming more and more popular to meet the New Year in the city’s restaurants and top hotels, which organise special celebratory programmes with which to astound their guests.
Christmas is not celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar date of 25th December, but according to the Julian calendar on 7th January. In ancient Rus, it was traditional to sing carols. Young people dressed up in costumes would sing under the windows of houses to wish the owners good luck and success. In return, they would be thanked with treats. Sadly this ancient tradition has all but died out in cities, but in Petersburg Christmas celebrations have taken on a more social character: as well as public celebrations in the streets, the city’s theatres and concert halls hold special evenings, concerts and masked balls.
On 7th January, ceremonial services are held in the city’s churches and cathedrals. The festive week lasts right up until Old New Year, yet another unusual holiday celebrated in Russia due to the difference in calendars on the night of 13th-14th January. Participants of the White Days festival are offering special Christmas programmes.
In February or March, depending on the Orthodox calendar, Russia celebrates Shrovetide as it is called by the faithful, or Pancake Week by others. It is the Russian answer to the February carnivals that take place on the eve of Lent. In ancient Rus, everyone observed special rituals for Shrovetide connected with visiting different relatives and eating blini (pancakes) at their house (for example, on Wednesday it was traditional to go to the wife’s mother for blini.) Now at Shrovetide, Russians simply make pancakes at home all week, though on Sunday, just as in bygone times, the celebration usually moves outside. This is Shrovetide – the holiday which marks a farewell to the winter, and Shrove Sunday, when people ask each other for forgiveness. In St. Petersburg Shrovetide is celebrated in the open air, as fairs are held in the city’s parks and gardens, people go sledging, and most importantly, take part in noisy games involving trying warm blini with assorted fillings: caviar, sour cream, mushrooms, egg and so on. Blini are traditionally washed down with medovukha (honey beer), kvass (a traditional Russian non-alcoholic drink) and sometimes something a little stronger, the ultimate Russian drink. At the end of the festival an effigy of winter is traditionally burnt on a bonfire. During this week blini are widely available not only in the typical street stands, but in the city’s restaurants, including the most refined ones.
Easter Sunday of course falls on a different date every year, but always between 22 March and 25 April. In the Orthodox faith, the Holy Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important holiday of the year. There are a lot of customs associated with it. On the night of Easter Saturday, Orthodox Russians gather in churches and cathedrals to listen to a special mass and take part in the Procession of the Cross around the church. This is a wonderful and majestic sight – churches are decorated with white flowers and lit by thousands of candles, the gold on the icons and richly decorated robes of the priest glitter. During the Procession of the Cross and all the next day, people greet each other with the words, ‘Christ is Risen!’ to which it is replied, ‘He is truly Risen!’ This is an ancient Christian tradition which is observed only in Russia. It is also traditional at Easter to give each other painted eggs, and eat Easter cake. A special Easter menu is available at the city’s restaurants and hotels.
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