Russian Santa: Grandfather Frost is the Russian Santa Claus. He brings gifts to the children at New Year’s, which is the most popular Russian holiday celebration. His grand-daughter, the “Snowmaiden,” accompanies him to help distribute the gifts. All of our Russian Santas ares hand-carved and hand-painted in one of the traditional wood carving villages of old Russia. Linden wood is the most commonly used wood for these wonderful Russian Santas.
New Years Eve – December 31st – is the big day for the celebration of Russian Chrsitmas in post-revolutionary, Russia. On New Years Eve Grandfather Frost (Russia’s version of Santa Claus) arrives with his granddaughter the Snowmaiden. They bring bags of candy for the children and Grandfather Frost listens to the girls and boys sing songs and recite poems. After this, he gives small Christmas gifts to the children.
Russians decorate their homes with a Christmas tree and often put pine leaves on their front doors, and in the house. The Russian Christmas tree is usually taken down at the end of January after the feast day of the Baptism of Christ.
“C novom godom!” (snow-vum gode-um)- meaning “with the New Year” – is a common New Years Eve – Christmas holiday greeting.
Russian Christmas Religious Traditions
Russian Orthodox Christmas takes place on January 7th (following the Old Calendar this is the 25th of December) and the celebration lasts for six days.
In the Orthodox tradition nothing is eaten or drunk on Christmas Eve until the first star appears in the sky. The star is symbolic of the great star that led the Magi to the newly born Christ. Once the first star has appeared in the sky, the festivities begin with a Lenten meal – meaning meat or dairy products (including chocolates) are excluded. This Christmas Eve meal is “The Holy Supper” .
The family gathers around the table to honor the coming Christ Child. A white tablecloth is used to symbolize Christ’s swaddling clothes and hay is displayed as a reminder of the poverty of the place where Jesus was born. A tall white candle is placed in the center of the Table, to symbolize Christ – the “Light of the World.” A large round loaf of “pagach”, a special Lenten bread, is placed beside the candle to symbolize Christ – the “Bread of Life”.
The father begins the Christmas meal by leading the family in the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year and for the good things to come in the new year. The head of the family greets those present with “Christ is Born!” – the traditional Russian Christmas greeting – and the family responds with “Glorify Him!” The Mother then draws a cross with honey on each person’s forehead, saying a blessing – “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may you have sweetness and many good things in life and in the new year.” The Lenten bread (Pagach) is then broken and shared. The bread is dipped first in honey to symbolize the sweetness of life and then in chopped garlic to symbolize life’s bitterness. The “Holy Supper” is then eaten. After dinner, no dishes are washed and the Christmas presents are opened. The family goes to church for the Christmas Mass which lasts until after midnight.
Traditionally, the “Holy Supper” consists of 12 different foods, symbolic of the 12 Apostles. Although there was also some variation in the foods from place to place and village to village, the following is a good summary of what is typically served.
1) Mushroom soup with zaprashka (or Sauerkraut soup)
2) Lenten bread (”pagach”)
3) Chopped garlic
4) Honey
5) Baked fish
6) Fresh Oranges, Figs and Dates
7) Nuts
8 ) Kidney beans (cooked slowly all day) seasoned with shredded potatoes, lots of garlic, salt and pepper to taste
9) Peas
10) Parsley Potatoes (boiled new potatoes with chopped parsley and margarine)
11) Bobal’ki (small biscuits combined with sauerkraut or poppy seed with honey)
12) Red Wine
On Christmas morning the family returns to church for the Christmas day Liturgy. After church the family gathers together to exchange gifts and share a special Christmas meal. Children go from door to door caroling the song “Thy Nativity”.
“C Rodzhestvom Kristovom”(srod-zshest-vum krist-o-vum) is a common Russian Christmas greeting, meaning “with the Birth of Christ!”
As the capital of the country, Moscow is perhaps the most visited place in Russia. However, not all tourists and city guests may have enough time to visit all worth sightseeings and see all the interesting things that Moscow can offer. In this case, one must know what places of the many it is better to focus on first.
1) Red Square, Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin`s Mausoleum. They are considered the symbols of Moscow, located in the very heart and historical center of the Russian capital. St. Basils Cathedral still lets its visitors feel the spirit of ancient Russia. Lenin`s mausoleum can be of interest too – the body of a Soviet leader always attracts tourists (besides, there are rumors that the mausoleum can be eliminated in the future).
2) Pushkin Fine Arts Museum. Presents original and reproduction arts in thematic halls: Russian, European, Greek, Egyptian, and some other. Presents one of the world’s best ballet and opera with participation of great Russian artists.
3) Kolomenskoye Park. The park is located not far from the metro station Kolomenskaya. Undoubtedly it`d be better to visit the park in summer when it is full of trees, including a nice apple garden. However it is a wonderful place to visit in every season: you can enjoy the views of old Russian architecture and a small but cute cemetery near one of the churches.
4)The Bolshoi Theatre. Presents one of the world’s best ballet and opera with participation of great Russian artists.
5)The Tretyakov Gallery. It is one of the world-famous galleries which presents a vast collection of Russian arts.
6) The Novodevichy Convent. A fascinating place with wonderful architecture and a special cemetery, where a lot of famous Russian people are buried.
7) Vorobyovy Gory. The place is located at the Moscow River (Vorobyovy Gory metro station) and opens a picturesque view of water, hills, trees, and a great panorama of some parts of the city. Considered the highest spot in Moscow, and besides, it is situated not too far from the famous Moscow State University named after Lomonosov, which looks amazing in the evening, when the illuminations are on.
8 ) Park Pobedy (Victory Park – Kutuzovskaya metro station). A spacious area dedicated to the victory of Russians over the Nazi Germany. Monuments, memorials, fountains (in the warm time of the year), the Victory Museum, military equipment of the Soviet times.
9) Moscow Metro. It`d be better to travel from one metro station to another at weekend, when there are no crowds of people spoiling the view of great architecture and design inherited from the Soviet times. Committing a metro trip in rush hours can be a disaster as Moscow Metro is considered one of the most overcrowded in the world. The most peculiar stations are: Novoslobodskaya, Kievskaya, Novokuznetskaya, Komsomolskaya, Ploschad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Arbatskaya, Belorusskaya, Park Kultury, Kropotkinskaya (always seems to be the least crowded in Moscow metro)
10 ) VDNKH. A vast area of exhibition halls, located in buildings constructed in the Soviet times and therefore beautiful. Fountains in summer add more charm to the place, but it is still appropriate for having a walk and enjoying the nice planning and architecture of the territoryin in any time of the year. In spring and summer visitors can also find a vast open-air exhibition of beautiful flower compositions.
There has been some changes in Russian visa regulations, which were implemented a few days ago.
1. A foreign citizen can now obtain a Russian visa ONLY in the country of his/her citizenship. One can also obtain a Russian visa in another country but will need to present to the Russian consulate a permit of stay in that country valid for more than 90 days. A visa may also be issued in a country other than an applicant’s own in case of urgent necessity, such as participating in international, governmental, official, scientific, sport and cultural events. A final decision in these cases would be left up to the consulate.
2. A multiple entry business visa allows nationals of all countries to stay in Russia up to 90 days out of the period of 180 days.
3. A multiple entry visa is only available for people who have been issued a Russian visa before. If this is your first visit, you are only eligible to obtain a single or double entry visa for 1 to 3 months, which is the only way now to stay in Russia for longer than 50% of time if you plan to live here (apart from getting a residence permit or an official work permit, which enables you to stay in Russia for as long as you are employed here). A copy of your previous Russian visa should be enclosed in your application for a multiple entry invitation.
A possible workaround for the 1st rule would be to get a simple registration, not an official visa-permit of stay and try to get a visa with it. It’s still an official document, and the consulate might be OK with it. For example, in Germany one can get a “registration” (anmeldung) quite easily in a local area council office. If anybody knows about this possibility in other countries, please, post it here.