I got the great opportunity to return to the States for 2 weeks for Christmas so I'm not currently in Russia, but since I have some time, I figured I should backtrack and fill you all in on Russian Christmas, or rather, on Russian New Year, which is kind of the same thing, but not quite.
So because of the Orthodox calendar, among other things, December 25th is not a holiday for the majority of Russians. You're probably asking: How do the Russians make it through the long winter without a cheery holiday strategically placed right near the darkest day of the year? What what about the Christmas tree? Santa? Presents? Got 'em all. It seems that some Tsar some time ago decided that rather than celebrating 2 holidays back-to-back at the end of December, some consolidation was in order. So Santa, presents, even chopping down a tree and planting it INside your house shifted down a week and now somehow resides with midnight countdown and champagne glass clinking. Which is to say: New Year's Eve has everything. Interestingly, while some traditions span the culture, there are a few variations in the realization of them. My teenage students asked me incredulously why we would possibly hang our socks on the wall by the fire, while I wondered how Santa entered the Soviet-style apartment blocks without chimneys. Having never really thought about it, my students replied that he just comes in through the door.
Anyways, December was a busy month (hence the scarcity of blog posts), but I enjoyed the increasing amount of lights decorating the city, and it's been great to see family and friends during my holiday in the States.
 |
| I asked my 10 year olds to "Make Christmas" with just some random school supplies. This is what they came up with. |
 |
| A tree at Sokolniky park |
 |
| Trees adorn the streets of Moscow. |
 |
| Outside of Gorky Park |
 |
| Festive lights along the street of Dolgoprudny |
 |
Street decorations in the city.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment