The Russian New Year
Russians are accustomed to use the Byzantine calendar from the adoption of Christianity until 1700. In the 15th century Russia celebrated New Year in March but then people started to celebrate on September, 1. Therefore a ceremony took place on the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square and a church service, attended by the tsar, the Moscow patriarch and bishops.
In 1699 a new chronology system was introduced by the tsar Peter I that counted years from the birth of Jesus Christ and according to that a New Year is celebrated on January 1. Although European countries liked to use Gregorian Calendar but Russia preferred to use the Julian calendar meaning that New Year is celebrated 11 days later than other Europeans.
Peter I also ordered to decorate the streets and homes of Moscow with fir trees. Thus, this tradition was borrowed from Europeans living in Moscow’s German Quarter. People congratulated each other, burn fires, shoot rifles and launch firecrackers with a firework on the Red Square.
In 1982 the charity celebrations were organized for kids and the first fir tree was set up in a pavilion in St. Petersburg’s Yekaterinhof Park.
Fir tree is a symbol of New Year
Initially the fir trees were decorated with sweets, fruits, ribbons and candles but later the special Christmas decorations were used like small bells, figurines of angels and shepherds. Afterwards, glass Christmas decorations came from Germany and a factory of glass balls has opened near the Russian town Klin.
History of New Year
In 1918 the Western European Gregorian Calendar was introduced by the RSFSR but it was cancelled by the Russian Orthodox Church. Therefore Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7 in accordance to Julian Calendar. At the same time the Old New Year was emerged that is celebrated on January 14.
The Soviet Union continued to celebrate New Year. And Grand Kremlin Palace took the unique New Year parties for children and party officials.
In 1935 Second Secretery of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Pavel Postyshev offered to arrange a good New Year party for kids.
A New Year party for kids took place at the House of the Unions’ Column Hall. There was Ded Moroz with Snegurochka like the main characters of the New Year. Since 1954, New Year parties for children were held in the Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.
In 1970, politicians started to address the country’s people on New Year’s eve. Such address was made by General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev and was broadcasted on the national TV.
In the Soviet Unions the characteristics of the New Year were replaced. For example, a five-pointed red star has replaced the Star of Bethlehem and Kremlin towers, cosmonauts, satellites have replaced nuts, fruit and figurines of Christmas.
New Year celebrations in Russia
There was a Russian president Boris Yeltsin who firstly ordered to install a real fir tree on Cathedral Square within the Kremlin’s walls in 1996. And New Year celebration so called presidential party was hold at the Grand Kremlin Palace. There was about 5000 kids from all Russian cities and towns.
On the New Year’s eve, the Russian president pronounced his speech to the people and then TV channels and radio stations broadcasted the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower’s clock and also the national anthem.
The Russian dates of Christmas and the New Year
There were so many changes of the official dates of Christmas and the New Year. In 1948, January 1 became a non-working day and in 1990 January 7 became a non-working day and in 1992 January 2 became a non-working day. From 2013, official New Year holidays last on January 1-8.
There is now a difference of 13 days between the two calendars. According to the Russian Orthodox church January 7 is Christmas. The Old New Year on January 14 is also celebrated but with less importance.
For over 70 years after the Revolution in 1917 the Soviet Union was intolerant to Christian festivals.
There were the International Workers’ Day on May 1 and the Revolution on November 7 like the biggest celebrations across the country but the Russian New Year was the ordinary winter celebration. For now, many Russian greeting cards was made about the New Year only.
During the New Year feasts, families unite in Russian homes to eat the national Olivier salad as well as the other tasty salads and dishes. The national drink for that celebration is normally champagne.
A moment before midnight, Russian president address on TV and then camera overlooks Red Square. With the Kremlin’s clock chimes midnight, toasts and wishes are around and the gifts are given and presented. And then the champagne runs out and the various drinks like wine and beer are available to celebrate the New Year. Parties continue until the early morning.
For Russians New Year’s eve is only about the family gathering, so party doesn’t start after midnight. On that day Russians do not go to the nightclubs and bars but they toasted to the new year and listen to Putin’s speech.
On the New Years night when kids go to bed, Ded Moroz comes to kids and puts gifts under the Christmas tree. In addition, already in December the kids begin to write to Father Frost on how they behaved during the whole year and which presents they want to have.
New Year preparations
Russian New Year is time for cleanliness at homes when people present their homes and yourself in order. Before the New Year, people started the general cleaning of their homes and apartments. Normally they like to wash the curtains in their houses, wash the hidden corners and do not forget about themselves going to the bath. Usually, people like to meet the New Year in sauna with their friends.
Traditional cinemas on New Year
Traditionally 31st December is a day of watching their favorite films on the central television channels:
- the first favorite movie for Russians is Ирония судьбы или с легким паром- the “Irony of fate”;
- the second favorite movie for Russians is Карнавальная ночь – the “Carnival night”;
- the third favorite movie for Russians is Елки – the “New Year trees”;
- the fourth favorite movie for Russians is Чародеи the “Charodei” that means magicians;
- the fifth favorite movie for Russians is Служебный роман “Love affair at work”;
- the six favorite movie for Russians is Девчата “Devchata” that means girls;
- the seventh favorite movie for Russians is Иван Васильевич меняет профессию “Ivan Vasilyevich is changing his profession.
From year to year millions of people in Russia watch the 1976 Soviet classic The Irony of Fate. The sujet of this movie is about a man Zhenya who plans to spend New Years’ Eve with his girl but because of taking many alcohol drinks at the baths he got to be in Saint Petersburg. He calls a taxi to be to the place he thinks is his home and then he woken up by the another girld Nadya. Then to be continued in the movie.
New Year dishes
Russians are usually happy to cook a lot of festive dishes on the New Year when making them an attribute of the celebration. The traditional dishes for New Year are the salads like Olivier and Under a fur coat. Olivier normally includes boiled potatoes, carrots, fresh cucumber, sausage or meat and boiled eggs. But Under a fur coat includes potatoes, herring, onion, carrots, beets. Another dishes include caviar, red fish, pickled vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes. Among the snacks there are sausage and cheese cold cuts and fresh vegetables. Of course, it is important to have a hot meat like baked turkey, duck or goose, fry fish and barbecue. When it comes to the fruits, there is a lot of apples, oranges, lemons, pineapples and bananas.
Another part of New Year food is Sovietskoye champagne and caviar served on the buttered bread. Mandarin oranges are the important fruits there too. This dates back to Nicholas II but they are appeared again only in 1970s when the Soviet Union started to import them again.
How Russians celebrate New Year
Before the New Year comes there are a lot of cultural and sports events and kids’ festivals in the cities and towns. On December 31 you may watch the New Year firework and also New Year concert. There you will see a lot of people in the streets and festival will continue until the morning.
Till the Putin’s speech the family members normally have dinner, speak to each other, discuss the events of the previous year and make plans for the future year.
It is admitted that five minutes to midnight people started to watch TV and Putin’s addressing to the Russians. It has been started in 1976 and it has been followed since then. Afterwards Russians celebrate the New Year when the Kremlin clock chimes midnight. People drink champagne from their glasses and say Happy New Year to each other.
At 1am a Red Square holds a firework as an important part of the festival that is organized a lot. For instance, yearly Moscow firework costs about 5 million rubles. Thus, from year to year people go out to watch the firework on this day of the year. Anyway, the celebration goes on until the morning.
Ded Moroz and Snegurochka
In Russia Ded Moroz called Father Frost is the Russian equivalent of Santa Clause. He normally appears on New Years’ Eve with gifts for well-behaved children. His traditional attire includes red fur coat, hat, warm boots and a big sack on his back for giving gifts to the kids. He doesn’t have any reindeer next to him. He brings a magical staff to freeze everything around him. To be added, unlike Santa, he does not hide himself in the night, but, on the contrary, he is happy to show himself and stay at a holiday party to give out the presents.
There is also his granddaughter Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden. She typically wearing a blue and white fur coat with a long blond braid. She lives in Kostroma on the Volga but the Ded Moroz lives near Veliky Ustyug in the Vologda place.
Traditional wishes
In Russia, thinking about what you would like to see happen next year doesn’t really help. Everything you need is to put some efforts into making sure your dream comes true. Please write it down on the piece of paper and then burn it. After this all, you should pop the ashes into a glass of champagne and take a big swig.
Two New Years
In fact, Russia has two New Year’s Eves. The Orthodox or Julian calendar helps to have the Old New Year’s Eve on January 14. This featival is not so big and tremendous like the New Year’s Eve. According to the rest of the West, the New Year’s Eve hold on December 31st. It is started to be when Russia switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. In the Soviet Union the Christmas was rejected, so New Years’ Eve got the traditional festival to celebrate.
Taking bath is a cultural tradition
After washing the house Russians usually start to clean their body at a banya, so called Russian sauna, or an original bath on the 31th of December.
Banya is an important part of Russian culture as a whole. Banya usually look like an ordinary steam room with wooden benches and a main bench in the center for treatments. This all is about being thrashed by large birch leaves then dunked in a bucket of ice-cold water. The most popular baths are in Moscow and called Sanduny Baths. But the things are different in Siberia because people there lie outside in the snow instead of submerging themselves in cold water.
Interesting facts about the New Year
Fact number 1: Russians adopted the Chinese calendar according to Chinese astrology that is so popular now. All people can tell you the year according to the Chinese calendar. This is also pictured on the traditional souvenirs to sell them on the New Year.
Fact number 2: Russia has very long New Year holidays. Normally they last until January 8 because people celebrate Christmas on January 7.
New Year vocabulary
If you want to attend Russia on a New Year then you need to know some Russian words those are connected to the topic of a New Year. Here are some of the words:
- Новый год — New Year;
- канун Нового года — New Year’s Eve;
- полночь — midnight;
- праздник — holiday;
- салют (в значении фейерверк) — firework;
- отсчет времени — countdown;
- празднование — celebration;
- новогодние каникулы — New Year holidays;
- С Новым годом! — Happy New Year!
- новогодняя елка — New Year tree;
- елочные игрушки — New Year decorations;
- мишура — tinsel;
- Дед Мороз — Father Frost;
- снегурочка — Snow Maiden;
- подарки — gifts;
- куранты — Kremlin Clock;
- загадать желание — to make a wish.
Christmas in Russia
Being a religious celebration the Russian Christmas does not mean drinking a lot of alcohol. It is just because Russians eat a lot of food and drink a lot of alcohol on holidays. Of course, January 7 is not the end of holidays. In fact, Russian holidays are ended on January 14.
No matter which New Year you celebrate we wish you Happy New Year!
