New Year in Russia

New Year  is one of the biggest and most popular holidays in Russia. Like in most other countries, New Year’s Day falls on the 1st of January, but the celebration begins on New Year’s Eve, on the 31st of December. Most people start celebrating it in the evening and finish early in the morning. The most important part is the moment when the New Year begins – at midnight.

In Russia, New Year’s is a bigger holiday than Christmas, and it is very similar to Christmas in Western cultures. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on the 7th of January, but, unlike Christmas in Western countries, it is a strictly religious holiday. In other words, usually, people do not have parties and family dinners on Christmas. There is also no tradition of giving presents, putting up a Christmas tree and decorating in the Christmas period. Russian people do all that for New Year.

In December, people shop for presents and Christmas trees ( “New Year trees”). It is customary to give presents on New Year’s Eve. Most families make a lot of dishes and invite guests over. The guests might bring gifts, especially if there are little children there, but it is not necessary. Usually, people in Russia give presents to their family and friends. As for gifts for children, these are brought by Grandfather Frost – the Russian version of Santa Claus. By the way, Russian Santa Claus does not work alone; he has a young assistant called Snegurochka. She is his granddaughter, and her name means something like «Snow Girl».

On the 1st of January, at night, Grandfather Frost magically visits every family and leaves presents for children. There are no traditions with stockings; he leaves the gifts under the New Year tree. Kids wake up in the morning and rush to see what is under the tree. This is the most exciting morning for them!

Usually, people start celebrating on 31st of December at about 9 p.m. or even later, it depends on the family’s own traditions. The celebration is basically a dinner party with a lot of dishes and drinks. People drink, eat, chat, sing, and have fun. Probably, the most traditional New Year dish is Olivier salad, made of sausages, diced boiled potatoes, vegetables and mayonnaise. In some countries, it is known as Russian salad.

A few minutes before midnight, people pour some champagne, turn on their TVs and watch the New Year Presidential Message. After that, the TV shows the Kremlin Clock. The Kremlin Clock is the most well-known and important clock in the country, similar to Big Ben in England. At 12 o’clock sharp it chimes, and that marks the beginning of the New Year. Millions of people say, “Happy New Year!”, cheer, drink champagne and pull crackers.

Most of the celebration takes place during the night. On the 1st of January, most people wake up late and clean up after the celebration. Usually, there is still a lot of food left over. Every year, there is a long holiday period from the 1st to the 9th or 10th of January. Most people do not work on those days; they just rest and watch New Year TV shows and movies.