К основному контенту

Christmas and New Year in Russia

  



Dear readers! I would like to share with you information about Christmas and New Year traditions in Russia - how Russians celebrate these holidays.

Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 7, according to the Gregorian calendar. This is the custom of the Russian Orthodox Church. Christmas Eve is Sotschelnik, a name derived from the word "sochiva". Sochiva is a ritual food, a porridge made from wheat or barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, lentils, mixed with honey.


The Christmas fast ends on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, nothing is eaten until the first star, in memory of the Star of Bethlehem. Then the whole family sits around the table and shares wafers with wishes.

Dishes on the Christmas table: pancakes (bliny), fish dishes, sirloin or beef leg jelly (holodec), pork, homemade pork sausage, poultry dishes, gingerbread (pryanik).


From January 6 to 7, people stay up, go door to door and sing Christmas carols. Kolyada is an ancient ritual of glorifying the Nativity of Christ with songs. The singers sing and their hosts offer them various treats. The most famous literary work describing this Slavic ritual is "The Night Before Christmas" by Nikolai Gogol.

As Christmas was abolished in Russia in 1929 (until 1991), it is not as popular as the New Year celebration. Some Christmas traditions have been transferred to the New Year's celebration. For example, the Christmas tree, which is now called the New Year tree.


Gifts and visits to Ded Moroz (Santa Claus) have also become part of New Year's traditions and have lost their original Christmas associations.



In 1937, at the New Year's Eve gathering in Moscow, Snegurochka, a Russian fairytale character who was no longer associated with the Christmas holiday, appeared for the first time as Santa's companion and granddaughter.


The Soviet era also saw the emergence of its own New Year's attributes: tangerines, Olivier salad, the midnight chimes during which a wish is made, and the solemn address by the leader of the state to the country's citizens.


On New Year's Eve, Russians celebrate the New Year with feasts, songs and dances, setting off fireworks in the street and playing snow-related winter games. 


The most popular dishes on the Russian New Year's table: tangerines, "Olivier" salad, "Herring under a fur coat" salad (Seledka pod shuboi), sirloin or beef leg jelly (holodec), roast chicken and mashed potatoes. Drinks: champagne, wine and vodka.


In Russia, on December 31, my husband and I used to prepare a small dinner, which included the following dishes: "Olivier" salad, "Herring under a fur coat" salad, oven-roasted chicken, a dish with tangerines. Then we'd have dinner and say goodbye to the new year.


At midnight, we opened the champagne, made a wish and drank a glass of champagne. Then we went out to let off fireworks and wish a happy new year to the other people who had also gone out.

As my husband and I have Polish roots, we like to listen to Polish music and sometimes I cook Polish food. I want to share with you a Polish Christmas song that you can listen to on YouTube.


And this is my favorite song from my childhood. This song is from one of the most popular movies that people in Russia like to watch on New Year's holidays. The movie is called "The Magicians" (Charodei). 

Merry Christmas and happy new year!


Ярлыки:

Комментарии

Отправить комментарий

Популярные сообщения из этого блога

My second short story was published, "I Met Lilith."

Published my second book in the   Mystery Stories   series on the amazon platform. It's called   " I Met Lilith " .  Also included in this series is the short story  "Too Late," which I wrote about in a previous post .  The book can be purchased both electronically and in print. As usual, it is available in four languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. Russian version I was inspired by a trip my husband and I took to the Mediterranean coast in Turkey, where the idea for this book was born. It was there that the first chapters were written, which happened in September 2022. A little bit about the story Danil lives in a Turkish town by the Mediterranean Sea. One day on the beach, he notices a young Turkish woman who has come to sunbathe and swim in the sea with her boyfriend. Danil likes her so much that he immediately starts to have strong feelings for her. Fate offers the main character different opportunities to get to know the girl better, and...
Отправить комментарий
Read more »

The Guaíra Cultural Theater (Brazil, Curitiba PR)

  With this article, I open the "Cycle of articles on the attractions of the city of Curitiba" . These are the places that not only locals like to visit, but also tourists. The Guaíra Cultural Theater is one of the largest cultural complexes in Latin America, with an area of around 17,000 square meters and a capacity for around 3,000 people. Maintained by the Government of Paraná, it is located in Santos Andrade Square. The Guaíra building was built to the architectural design of Rubens Meister. The Guaíra Theater houses three auditoriums: Bento Munhoz da Rocha Netto, Salvador de Ferrante and Glauco Flores de Sá Brito. The Teatro Zé Maria, located in the São Francisco district, is also part of the CCTG. The Guaíra Theater has four artistic bodies: the Paraná Symphony Orchestra, the Guaíra Theater Ballet, the G2 Dance Company and the Dance School. The Teatro Guaíra is the best-known cultural venue in the state. A little history of the Guaíra Theater The Guaíra is the largest a...
Отправить комментарий
Read more »

Recipe "Olivier" salad (Russian salad)

   Olivier salad is the main dish at Russian New Year's dinners. The history of this salad began around 1860. Chef Lucien Olivier, who worked in a Russian restaurant in Moscow, created this recipe. The salad became very popular with customers. With food shortages during the 1917 revolution, the salad recipe was greatly simplified. And so it found its way onto all the tables of the Russian people. Ingredients: 3-4 potatoes; 1 carrot; 1-2 chicken eggs; 100 g green peas; 3-4 pickles; 200-300 g ham green onions; mayonnaise to taste. Potatoes and carrots should be cooked in their skins. Also boil the eggs until they are hard. If you haven't canned peas, but have frozen peas, they should also be boiled. Once all the boiled products have cooled down, peel and chop them. Potatoes, carrots and eggs, cut into cubes. Drain the brine from the cucumbers and also cut into cubes. Cut the ham into cubes (you can use smoked sausage). Chop the green onions, mix all the ingredients and season wi...
Отправить комментарий
Read more »