Here is Lena's description of the winter holidays in Russia. Look for her information about Christmas in a later post.
Winter holiday season is one of the most exciting times for everyone in Russia. With the first snow comes first excitement. And as it gets colder and the snow piles grow bigger so does people’s joy and anticipation for winter and everything it brings.
Winter (“zima”) in Russia is a beautiful time and even minus 22 degree Fahrenheit weather can’t take away the feeling of awe when looking at the ice patterns on the windows and snow covered tree branches.
Winter is the time to get skis and sleds out of the closets, go outside, play snowballs and make snowmen.
And, of course, winter is the time to celebrate New Years and Christmas. The tradition for celebrating Christmas is coming back to life, yet New Year’s still remains the biggest winter celebration. The kids in the orphanages, schools and kindergartens start getting ready for New Year’s celebrations a long time in advance. They make New Year’s cards, learn poems about Grandfather Frost and winter and rehearse dances and songs for the big New Year’s performance. From December 30th till January 10th there are winter vacations at school (“kanikuli”). During this time the kids have a lot of parties and celebrations (called “Yolka” - “New Year’s tree”). New Years tree/Christmas tree is the center piece of a lot of places during this season: town squares, shops, work places, homes, school and orphanage auditoriums. Very often it is decorated with the things the kids make themselves: snow flakes, stars, snowman figures etc. The top of the tree is usually decorated with a big star. The New Year’s trees are put up at the end of December and put down in the middle of January.
The two main characters that make their appearance during the New Years season are Grandfather Frost (“Ded Moroz”) and Snow Girl (“Snegurochka”). The Grandfather Frost has replaced in Russia the European Saint Nicolas and American Santa Clause. It is a tall old man with a long white beard in a red fur coat, special mittens, felt boots, with a magic staff and bag of gifts for children. He isn’t carried by reindeer, but rides a big Russian sled with three horses and a little bell under an arch. His usual place of stay is winter snow forest, where he is responsible for blizzards and snow storms.
Snow Girl is his charming granddaughter. She is dressed in a light-blue coat and a hat with white fur and she is also wearing white boots. She has a long blond braid. She is a mistress for birds and animals of a winter forest: hares, squirrels and birds.
Both Grandfather Frost and Snow Girl are the main characters of every “Yolka” celebration. They come to every school, kindergarten, orphanage to give the kids gifts and celebrate with them (very often the characters are played by the orphanage/school staff). During the play malicious Baba Yaga and Forest Man (“Leshiy”) steal the bag with gifts from Ded Moroz. In course of the play the kids help to look for it. Once the bag is found Ded Moroz lights up the New Years tree and does a dance (“horovod”) around it with all the kids and other characters. Many kids are dressed up as fairy tale or winter characters on this day as well: snowflakes, hares, snowmen…
New Years is a family holiday in Russia when all the family gets together at a table for a big New Year’s meal. This happens on the night of the 31st of December. By doing this people say good-bye to the Old Year and welcome the New. The classical attributes for a New Years table are: champagne for adults (though Russians have come up with what’s called “Champagne for Children”--a non alcoholic beverage), tangerines and a meat salad. There are a lot of special programs and shows on TV that night and so the family usually enjoys a big dinner watching TV most of the night. Minutes before midnight the President appears on TV with his New Year’s speech and then the count down begins. Once the Kremlin clock starts to strike midnight people clink their glasses, tell each other “S Novim Godom!” (Happy New Years!) and drink champagne. Another famous New Years tradition is watching the movie called “Irony of Fate” (or “Have a Nice Bath”). It is a hilarious New Year’s movie and it gives a good insight into Russian culture. Directed by Eldar Ryazanov and originally released in 1975, it’s been a tradition to watch the movie on New Year’s or around that time (if you are interested in Russian culture it is a great movie to watch and every Russian would know what you are talking about). Some people who are not into a quiet dinner have New Years parties with dancing, jumping into the snow and sliding down snowy hills at night.
It is customary to exchange gifts on New Years and not on Christmas. People put the gifts under the New Year’s tree and open them right after midnight or in the morning. January 1st is the day of rest, finishing food from last night and quiet family time.
The kids at the orphanages have a big “Yolka” celebration somewhere at the very end of December (29th, 30th) and then usually have a nice dinner and dancing for the actual New Years. But both New Years and Christmas are family holidays so in spite of all the joy and excitement of this season the kids still long for the family touch. Please, send your children a special greeting this Christmas and New Years and let them know that the are loved and remembered.
To say “Happy New Years” you say “S Novim Godom!”
Winter holiday season is one of the most exciting times for everyone in Russia. With the first snow comes first excitement. And as it gets colder and the snow piles grow bigger so does people’s joy and anticipation for winter and everything it brings.
Winter (“zima”) in Russia is a beautiful time and even minus 22 degree Fahrenheit weather can’t take away the feeling of awe when looking at the ice patterns on the windows and snow covered tree branches.
Winter is the time to get skis and sleds out of the closets, go outside, play snowballs and make snowmen.
And, of course, winter is the time to celebrate New Years and Christmas. The tradition for celebrating Christmas is coming back to life, yet New Year’s still remains the biggest winter celebration. The kids in the orphanages, schools and kindergartens start getting ready for New Year’s celebrations a long time in advance. They make New Year’s cards, learn poems about Grandfather Frost and winter and rehearse dances and songs for the big New Year’s performance. From December 30th till January 10th there are winter vacations at school (“kanikuli”). During this time the kids have a lot of parties and celebrations (called “Yolka” - “New Year’s tree”). New Years tree/Christmas tree is the center piece of a lot of places during this season: town squares, shops, work places, homes, school and orphanage auditoriums. Very often it is decorated with the things the kids make themselves: snow flakes, stars, snowman figures etc. The top of the tree is usually decorated with a big star. The New Year’s trees are put up at the end of December and put down in the middle of January.
The two main characters that make their appearance during the New Years season are Grandfather Frost (“Ded Moroz”) and Snow Girl (“Snegurochka”). The Grandfather Frost has replaced in Russia the European Saint Nicolas and American Santa Clause. It is a tall old man with a long white beard in a red fur coat, special mittens, felt boots, with a magic staff and bag of gifts for children. He isn’t carried by reindeer, but rides a big Russian sled with three horses and a little bell under an arch. His usual place of stay is winter snow forest, where he is responsible for blizzards and snow storms.
Snow Girl is his charming granddaughter. She is dressed in a light-blue coat and a hat with white fur and she is also wearing white boots. She has a long blond braid. She is a mistress for birds and animals of a winter forest: hares, squirrels and birds.
Both Grandfather Frost and Snow Girl are the main characters of every “Yolka” celebration. They come to every school, kindergarten, orphanage to give the kids gifts and celebrate with them (very often the characters are played by the orphanage/school staff). During the play malicious Baba Yaga and Forest Man (“Leshiy”) steal the bag with gifts from Ded Moroz. In course of the play the kids help to look for it. Once the bag is found Ded Moroz lights up the New Years tree and does a dance (“horovod”) around it with all the kids and other characters. Many kids are dressed up as fairy tale or winter characters on this day as well: snowflakes, hares, snowmen…
New Years is a family holiday in Russia when all the family gets together at a table for a big New Year’s meal. This happens on the night of the 31st of December. By doing this people say good-bye to the Old Year and welcome the New. The classical attributes for a New Years table are: champagne for adults (though Russians have come up with what’s called “Champagne for Children”--a non alcoholic beverage), tangerines and a meat salad. There are a lot of special programs and shows on TV that night and so the family usually enjoys a big dinner watching TV most of the night. Minutes before midnight the President appears on TV with his New Year’s speech and then the count down begins. Once the Kremlin clock starts to strike midnight people clink their glasses, tell each other “S Novim Godom!” (Happy New Years!) and drink champagne. Another famous New Years tradition is watching the movie called “Irony of Fate” (or “Have a Nice Bath”). It is a hilarious New Year’s movie and it gives a good insight into Russian culture. Directed by Eldar Ryazanov and originally released in 1975, it’s been a tradition to watch the movie on New Year’s or around that time (if you are interested in Russian culture it is a great movie to watch and every Russian would know what you are talking about). Some people who are not into a quiet dinner have New Years parties with dancing, jumping into the snow and sliding down snowy hills at night.
It is customary to exchange gifts on New Years and not on Christmas. People put the gifts under the New Year’s tree and open them right after midnight or in the morning. January 1st is the day of rest, finishing food from last night and quiet family time.
The kids at the orphanages have a big “Yolka” celebration somewhere at the very end of December (29th, 30th) and then usually have a nice dinner and dancing for the actual New Years. But both New Years and Christmas are family holidays so in spite of all the joy and excitement of this season the kids still long for the family touch. Please, send your children a special greeting this Christmas and New Years and let them know that the are loved and remembered.
To say “Happy New Years” you say “S Novim Godom!”
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